Summary of "I Get Born" by: Zora Neal Hurston
Narrator(author) is born naturally in her home- her mom too weak to care for her. A man came along and cut the chord, and polished up the baby. The grandmother didn't thank the white man.
Later, Zora had a tough time walking and learned to walk because of a pig.
Summary of "Harlem" by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes about what would happen to dreams when they die. He's challenging members of Harlem and the Civil Rights movement to continue to dream, despite oppresion.
Summary of "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes
Narrator is telling the story of a blues piano player who's at first going to set his blues aside, but then says he's miserable.
Summary of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Men in the military carried a variety of objects. Some sentimental, some standard military issue. Curl lemon killed by a mortor. Ted lavendar gets shot when lt. jimmy cross is looking at pictures of martha
Summary of "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef visits the Vietnam War Memorial.
Yusef is still alive, imagines his name could have easily been on the list.
Summary of "The Dying Veteran" by Walt Whitman
A veteran lying in his deathbed wants to return to battle life- where he was at peace. Fought under Washington
Summary of "The Colonel" by Carolyn Forche
Everything is plain and tidy in this house, and a man comes back with a grocery sack full of ears. He dumps an ear into a glass- they are trophies and he's grumpy about the advocation of human rights
Summary of "Legal Alien" by Pat Mora
Bi-lingual/cultural has its benefits of writing and speaking. But as the poem goes on, the negatives of never feeling accepted by Mexicans or Americans
Summary of "Child of the Americas" by Aurora Levin Morales
The narrator is a puerto rican jew, an immigrant. Has a wide cultural background and is content with it and owns it.
History made her and she is okay with being a melting pot- for that's what America is
Summary of "Silent Dancing" by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Narrator discusses her life in America after living in Puerto Rico. Her father is in the Navy and challenges arise
Summary of "Indian Boarding School" by Louise Erdrich
Native American children are forced to attend boarding schools, and made into 'white'- Green dresses of shame- we feel their pain. Stories of the run-away children that are taking back to aplace of oppression
Summary of "Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka
African man calls about renting or buying a home. The lady that answers is a typical white woman, and is silenced when the man mentions he's black. "how black?" she asks.
Summary of "Federico's Ghost" by Martin Espada
Boy gives the bird to a tomato field helicopter guy, who sprays pesticides all over him and kills him. The remaining tomato workers rebel and destroy the tomato field
Summary of "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
A mother reflects over her daughter's upbringing- the daughter was forced to live in the care of others when her husband left her early on.
Summary of "A Red Sweater" by Fae NG
Two sisters get together for dinner and discuss their complex family relationship. Their parents moved from China to provide them with a better life and seem to have a tumultuous relationship.
Summary of "Danse Russe" by William Carlos Williams
Married man does things not typical of a married man, dances around, looks at himself and is happy to be alone in that moment. Self expression
Summary of "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur
A man has love for his daughter and compares her to a ship- shes at the center of him.
He wishes her luck on his voyage, and then compares her to a bird locked in the room. The bird is trying to escape and has troubles, like his daughter's writers block. But the bird escapes through the right window and makes something
Summary of "The Soul selects her own society" by Emily Dickinson
The soul selects who it lets in
Summary of "Othello" by William Shakespeare
Othello, a military hero, is on the outside for his skin and is convinced of his wife's infidelity. He kills her, Emilia is kille,d then he kills himself
Summary of "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Manuel Puig
To men, Molina and Valentin, share a prison cell together.
After first not connecting, Valentin grows to appreciate Molina and his alternatve approach to life. Eventually, Molina is released and killed while trying to deliver a message from Valentin to his revolution counterpats
