Subjects for Other Conversations :: essays research papers

Categorized Poems from Subjects for other ConversationsIn John Stigalls book, Subjects for Other Conversations, all of the thirty-seven poems butt be placed into one of five different categories. These categories include sadness, racism, happiness, sex, and religion.Sadness, the first category, includes ten of the thirty seven poems. These poems express hate, anger, and depression about many things in life, from growing obsolete to losing a child. These poems argon Poem on Turning Forty, Poem on Turning Forty-Five, Blues, Impromptu, Into the Life of This World, Some People, The Revenant, In the Bibleblack Air, forward motioning, and Final Approach. In Stigalls poem, Poem on Turning Forty, he talks about how women arent as attracted to him now. And you can tell hes cast down about growing old. The poem Into the Life of This World, talks about losing a child at birth. Stigalls light use of words, such as perfect, calm, and slow agony, shows that this poem is full of intense emot ions and sadness. I.At thirty-three, too young to be sickened into the light, my fathersbody-perfect, calm-forms a fetalcurl about its silent agony. His eyes, apocalyptic& articulate, ex playing field. The lightwanesII.Silent, I refuse the firsts breaths (cradled in the light). Mybody- stillborn, calm, numb from the canal-appearsdeaf, dumbSee the physician & my mourning mothercurl over me, warping my flesh, weeping,praying me into the life of this origination (30)The next category is racism. These three poems describe how racism still exists today. The poems show how hateful people can be towards someone of a different race. These poems are December/ January, Brazil Nuts, and Up in Dixie. In all three of these poems, Stigall never seems to show any anger. He just tells of his experiences in plain and simple terms. In Brazil Nuts, Stigall talks about how when he was a child, how he never questioned racism. But now as a man he doesnt understand why racism hasnt gone away. When I was a ChildI understoodas a childI did not questionas a childI acceptedas a childBut when I became a manthe old folksdown southstillcallthem Nigger Toes (39)Four of Stigalls thirty-seven poems can be put into the category happiness. These four poems are light and pleasant. They talk about things such as music, people and Stigalls children. These poems are This Sabbath Afternoon, No 3 Tanka, If the Past Ever Existed, and 101 West 123Rd thoroughfare. In This Sabbath Afternoon, Stigall talks about watching his children playing.