Yusef Komunyakaa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Yusef Komunyakaa - Research Paper Example His complex background and unique voice show the power of poetry. Throughout his many years at the craft he has risen to become one of the foremost writers of his age. But his work is far from laudatory. Komunyakaa explores many complex and painful chapters in American life, many reflected through his background. He is not afraid to celebrate what is good, but nor is he unwilling to explore what is darkest and saddest about America. Biography Komunyakaa was born in Louisiana in 1947 into a family that was recently from Africa (Cocola, 211). He joined the army when he was a young man and fought abroad. When he returned to the United States, he began writing poetry and publishing and teaching. Over the years, he has won numerous awards both in the U.S. and internationally. His work takes as one of its major themes the dislocations and traumas of African-American life. It uses many of the techniques of this more traditional style to great effect. From the beginning it was clear that Kom unyakaa was a wilful man who saw himself as different. His original birth-name was James Willie Brown, but he changed it to his grandfather's name when he was young (Pereira, 45). His grandfather had been a stowaway from Trinidad. The poet's experience in Vietnam as an American soldier inform many aspects of his work. The Vietnam War was a difficult time for America. It was a war far from home against a people that Americans knew little about. The draft forced many people who would not normally fight in wars to participate. Back home, protests and riots broke out and brother turned against brother. Civil strife was common. For Komunyakaa this experience was a galvanizing one. But he did not see it through the mainstream lens of White America. He is not like other soldiers as his relationship with his country is more complex due to his ethnicity. He did not feel the same in Vietnam as the other American soldiers; indeed, he felt somewhat at home in the alien land (Cocola, 215). Influ ences and dialogue among writers Yusef Komunyakaa has many influences. Jazz is a key one. In a sense, Komunyakaa sees in jazz the same improvisational and emotive capacity of poetry. He also sees jazz as highly dependent on the blues and other traditions (Komunyakaa and Clytus, 121). But he is more formal than many jazz practitioners. He takes as inspiration the work of the Harlem poet Langston Hughes and even a man as remote as T.S. Eliot. Clearly, his own father is an important influence. In his father, Komunyakaa sees just how far he has come and how much he has accomplished in his years on this planet. While he may occasionally criticize America, Komunyakaa clearly recognizes that only in this country can the son of an illiterate man become a world famous poet. My father could only sign His name, but he'd look at blueprints & say how many bricks Formed each wall. This beautiful ending of a poem shows how Komunyakaa sees his own poetry as a product of accumulation and hard work o ver the years. That no single poem or brick stands alone appears to be the lesson he has taken from his father. Like a cathedral starts with a single brick, so a poem starts with a single line. The poet understands that the line cannot be written without education, without literacy, and so he has sought these things out. Writing theories/ style and technique Komunyakaa's writing theories are at the core of his work. A great example is the poem â€Å"Facing It† is an extraordinary journey through war and memory, and is surely one of Komunyakaa's best. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, the poet recalls his own horrifying experiences and is overcome with emotion. He remembers his comrades who have died in the bloody fray and his own complex feelings about the war and his place