Gwendolyn Brooks

Here's an excellent critique of s Brooks poem (you might not be able to read it if you don't subscribe to the NY Times).
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-android-share

Here are two of my favorites:


We Real Cool

The Pool Players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel.



We real cool. We

Left school. We



Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We



Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We



Jazz June. We

Die soon.



The pool players are rebels; they won’t submit to the man’s system. They live for the moment, careless of the future. Do they represent rebellious courage or foolish pride? The reader is left to determine that.



..............................

The Preacher: Ruminates behind the Sermon

I think it must be lonely to be God.
Nobody loves a master. No. Despite
The bright hosannas, bright dear-Lords, and bright
Determined reverence of Sunday eyes.

Picture Jehovah striding through the hall
Of His importance, creatures running out
From servant-corners to acclaim, to shout
Appreciation of His merit's glare.

But who walks with Him?—dares to take His arm,
To clap Him on the shoulder, tweak His ear,
Buy Him a Coca-Cola or a beer,
Pooh-pooh His politics, call Him a fool?

Perhaps—who knows?—He tires of looking down.
Those eyes are never lifted. Never straight.
Perhaps sometimes He tires of being great
In solitude. Without a hand to hold.



It seems to me there are two Christian Gods: Jesus (or the Trinity) and Yaweh. Yaweh, the God of the old testament, resembles the older Gods – the Gods of Greek and Babylonian mythology. He is a “jealous God” (He says so himself). He is often bitter (maybe tired of his solitude).

The Pauline God (He was invented by Paul – who ignored the historical Jesus and concentrated on Christ, thus warring with James the Just , Jesus’ brother and apostle) is unknowable. In the Gospel of Mark, only the demons he casts out see and recognize His divinity. The Trinity has baffled Jews, Moslems and some Christians for millenia.

We Real Cool is one of my favorite poems by Gwendolyn Brooks. The poem was also an inspiration for the Golden Shovel poetic form created by Terrance Hayes which I employ on occasion... I usually add an acrostic subtext just for giggles :)

As far as the biblical context in the next poem she creates a rather bleak persona which I do not adhere to... rather one of joy and love: Jesus the Christ, who in my understanding is also Jehovah of the Old Testament, the only begotten son of God in the flesh...

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tailor STATELY

We Real Cool is one of my favorite poems by Gwendolyn Brooks. The poem was also an inspiration for the Golden Shovel poetic form created by Terrance Hayes which I employ on occasion... I usually add an acrostic subtext just for giggles :)

As far as the biblical context in the next poem she creates a rather bleak persona which I do not adhere to... rather one of joy and love: Jesus the Christ, who in my understanding is also Jehovah of the Old Testament, the only begotten son of God in the flesh...

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

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Agape refers to God's love for humans -- in other words, the love of the greater for the lesser. I get Brooks' point that it might be a lonely form of love. We want to love our equals (filia, storge) or even worship our superiors (eros). Of course, "Who can know the mind of God?" Brooks does humanize HIm -- but so did Jesus.

IN my comments about Yaweh, I was referring to the literary Yaweh, who, after all, is a character in a book whatever else He may be. As literary characters, Jesus is enigmatic, speaking in riddles and parables. Yaweh is generally more demanding and straight forward, although he does answer Moses question about His name with, "I am what I am" -- which can also be translated as "I will be what I will be". Of course Christian theology has reconciled the two, but from a literary perspective it seems to me that they differ. It also seems that the Jesus of the .Gospels (and probably of real life) is different from the Pauline Jesus (although of course they are also reconciled theologically).

I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that the Christian God differs dramatically from Yaweh (or Allah). Christians are asked to "believe"; Jews are asked to "trust" the covenant between God and the patriarchs. In a sense, Yaweh is not a "theological" God. Yaweh rarely theologizes --unlike Jesus, and, even more, unlike Paul. Theology is a form of philosophizing developed by the Greeks. The only too common (on the internet) atheistic criticism of Yaweh for flooding the world, torturing Job, tormenting Abraham, and killing those first-born Egyptians misses the point. Yaweh is a stark reality in the Old Testament. He (like us) is redeemed by Jesus in the New Testament.

Interesting theology/philosophy... I'm certainly no expert either but continually strive to have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus... "to be still and know" as in this talk by a latter-day apostle of God: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/...ednar?lang=eng :)

and know...

But my soul trembles
When He asks me to be still
With unbounded joy

9/29/2017 tailor

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor