DISCUSSION QUESTION

Texts:

  • Maria Luisa Arroyo, “Barreras” (10)
  • Ed Morales, “Spanish Harlem on My Mind” (26-35)
  • Urayoan Noel, “Barrio Speedwagon Blues” (36)
  • Edwin Torres, “I Wanted to Say Hello to the Salseros but My Hair Was a Mess” (47-51)
  • Bonafides Rojas, “It’s a Myth on Our Tongue” (202-205)

Questions:
1. When considering the roles of women in “Barreras,” by Maria Luisa Arroyo, and “Triumph;’ by C.L.R. James through the challenges they face within their status and ethnicity, in what ways are they similar? And in what ways are the two pieces different? Are there different factors between “Barreras” and “Triumph” that result in different reactions? What appears to influence the treatment of these women most?

2. Both “Outcast” by Claude McKay (page 69 of The Routledge Reader in Caribbean Literature) and “Spanish Harlem on my Mind” in Hostos Review Revista Hostosiana seem to deal with the issue of diaspora. Compare or contrast the writers thoughts on their new homes in America versus those they left in the Caribbean. Is there a sense of nostalgia in either writing? Have the writers adapted to their new homes? From our past readings is there another writing you would have chosen to better describe issues with diaspora?

3. In “Barrio Speedwagon Blues,” does the mix of English and Spanish in the poem have more of an affect the rhyme or the meaning? How do the pictures of America described compare with the author’s dreams of America? Does anyone get the pun in the title (think 70s classic rock band), and does this have any impact on your interpretation of the poem?

4. Edwin Torres, in “I Wanted to Say Hello to the Salseros but My Hair Was a Mess,” has depicted a character that has been greatly influenced by the men in his life. How have the Puerto Rican men in the protagonist’s life affected him? Have they had positive or negative affects on his life? Why?

5. “It’s a Myth on Our Tongue,” by Bonafide Rojas, is a poem that reads more like a historical oral story. The author writes about the narrator being her father being like his father and his grandfather. He talks about his life as the years went by and how that affected his life. He recounted his history and where he was from and how that affected his life and the people that he knew. This was a very well written poem that showed a great insight to the culture and the history of one person’s family. Is history more empowering or more stifling in this poem? How do you interpret the repeated phrase, “I am changing it father”?