This semester we’ve read a number of poems that reflect upon what poetry is, what poetry does, and why and how to write (and read) poetry.

Last week we read Dawn Lundy Martin’s “Negrotizing in Five: Or, How to Write a Black Poem,” which obviously deals with these kinds of questions about poetry yet puts some new issues on the table.

It’s not an easy poem to grasp right away, so this week we’re focusing on parts of it and writing speculatively on what each of these parts might be about. When we have assembled and read these fragmentary interpretations, we’ll see if we’ve arrived collectively at a more complete understanding of the entire poem.