Pima People Penning Pueblo Poems
Let's workshop this poem about how, lucky for nonwhites, the logic behind the "OwnVoices" movement is implemented too selectively to bear the radically Balkanizing fruit it otherwise would
scent of the day: Dev 4, by Olympic Orchids
Still working on review.—One of the smoother and safer in the Dev series. / less stand out both in performance and uniqueness. / I get the olive brine or caper brine here too, like in others, which is pretty cool / whereas many fragrances taper down into a second-skin clean musk, this tapers down into a second-skin sulfur (which does fit the Dev idea( / this one is more rounder than the others, softer (but still the same labdanum base is present) / I think I like Dev 1 best, but it seems very redundant with Laudano Nero /
Pima People Penning Pueblo Poems
Were it not at root
a Machiavellian power grab
of self-serving selectivity, #OwnVoices
identitarianism would gag
not just white from writing about black
but also you—even
if black, queer, cripple—
from writing (with your memory
contraband) about past you.
"Pima People Penning Pueblo Poems" is a polemical poem that critically engages with contemporary identitarianism and the "OwnVoices" movement, arguing that its application is often a "Machiavellian power grab" rooted in "self-serving selectivity." The poem functions as a critique of identity politics, specifically challenging the perceived hypocrisy and inherent limitations of restricting artistic representation based solely on identity markers.
Formally, the poem is concise and uses a direct, almost accusatory tone, building its argument through a series of conditional statements and logical extensions. The title, "Pima People Penning Pueblo Poems," immediately sets up a seemingly unproblematic scenario of "OwnVoices" representation, implying a culturally specific and authentic creation. However, the poem's opening lines introduce the central critique: "Were it not at root / a Machiavellian power grab / of self-serving selectivity, #OwnVoices / identitarianism would gag / not just white from writing about black." This immediate negation of the perceived altruism of the #OwnVoices movement, labeling it a "power grab," is the poem's foundational assertion. The hashtag "#OwnVoices" grounds the critique firmly in current discourse. The enjambment throughout maintains a brisk, argumentative pace. The poem then extends its argument to a more radical and unsettling conclusion: "but also you—even / if black, queer, cripple— / from writing (with your memory / contraband) about past you." This is the poem's core rhetorical maneuver. By including individuals who possess multiple marginalized identities ("black, queer, cripple"), the poem attempts to demonstrate what it portrays as the inherent absurdity and ultimate self-defeating nature of rigid identity-based restrictions.
Thematically, the poem fundamentally questions the logic and ethical implications of identity essentialism in artistic production. It posits that if "OwnVoices" principles were applied consistently and without "self-serving selectivity," they would logically lead to an impossible scenario: even an individual with a marginalized identity would be "gag[ged]" from writing about their own past self if that past self is somehow distinct or "contraband" from their present identity. This serves as a reductio ad absurdum argument, aiming to expose what the poem perceives as the fundamental flaw in strictly limiting representation based on fixed identity categories. The phrase "memory / contraband" is particularly potent, suggesting that the very act of personal remembrance and artistic exploration across one's own life experiences could be deemed illegitimate if subjected to an overly rigid identitarian framework. The poem thus argues that true artistic freedom and authentic expression are inherently stifled when constrained by such narrow definitions, proposing that the ultimate outcome of such movements, if followed to their logical extreme, would be a universal gagging of creative exploration, even of the self.
identity politics, OwnVoices, identitarianism, artistic freedom, representation, censorship, cultural critique, polemic, essentialism, self-serving, hypocrisy, memory, contraband, reductio ad absurdum, literary theory, contemporary poetry.