Both the Baca and the Laviera pieces deal with issues surrounding the space Latinx people navigate. This space can be physical, intellectual, or metaphorical. In what ways do the poets depict how Latinx people occupy or are denied these spaces? How are these spaces important to immigrant communities? Keep in mind the imperial/colonial history of the United States, and that history is not limited to physical land.
All of the poems in this week's reading portray feelings of pain. In fact, I would argue every piece we have read in "The Immigrant Experience" have dealt with pain. Do you think that emotional pain is an integral part of the immigrant experience in America?
In regards to your question about pain and immigration, i think to a certain extent, yes. I believe that anybody in a new environment would have some difficulty adjusting. It's not just a new land, it is a new culture and in many cases a new language. Then there are issues like generational conflict, clashing cultures, issues of assimilation and so on. One can argue over whether or not the American dream is available to immigrants but i do believe that pain and struggle is part of the immigrant experience.
ReplyDeleteThe Latinx experience is rooted in colonialism and displacement, so when these poets create their works, there is always a subversive quality present whether it is intentional or not. These spaces are limited to Latinx people only if they successfully pass and assimilate into American Culture and whiteness, and if not those spaces are denied. Latinx people have an obligation to invade these spaces, especially in poetry because literacy is so universal throughout the United States and not just limited to the Latinx community, allowing others to understand the environment and experiences of Latinx peoples.
ReplyDeleteEmotional pain is a significant aspect of the immigrant experience. Immigrants, if not white, come into this new country with expectations of opportunity and face a hard reality of systemic racism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, and so forth. This country was built on the backs of immigrants and slaves, and it's very unjust to demonize immigrant because this country doesn't belong to anyone, much less the Anglo-saxon colonizers who have committed genocides in the building of this country.