Dear Arthur,
                  I didn't say that you were 'at fault' -our response to a
poem is a personal one that I don't think can be considered in terms of
right or wrong- but you did say that either the poem is a comment on racism
or it is not. My point is that 'black' is since a loaded word that it is
almost impossible to read it today without the racial resonance coming into
play.
  This poem plays on this fact, so when you stated that the piece was either
about racial prejudice or about which colour to wear -and if the latter 'So
what?'-I was suggesting that it was written with both in mind -and wondering
why you assumed they were mutually exclusive.
  I think the fact he refers to Britain as 'here' and wraps himself in gold
and orange implies he is from a more flamboyant culture -but I don't think
it matters too much. The point is that he sees Britain as black as a whole
because of the colour of people's clothes, not the part of Britain called
black because of the colour of people's skins.
 Perhaps I was trying to show, not tell -who knows?  It comes down to the
fact that a poem either works for a reader or it doesn't, and I would never
say that  the reader is at fault if it doesn't.
Kind regards,
            grasshopper

----- Original Message -----
From: "arthur seeley" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:40 PM
Subject: Re: [THE-WORKS] New sub: Black Britain( grasshopper) -Arthur


> Grassy, you make it sound as though I am at fault for assuming this was a
> poem on racism and that shows my ( OK 'our') 'attitude' and then tell Carl
> he was right in identifying it as such. I am a little confused, does Carl
> have an attitude, too? It might have helped my understanding  had I known
> the speaker was Nigerian. I have checked my wardrobe and find it
> statistically untypical. Regards Arthur.----- Original Message -----
> From: "grasshopper" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 11:43 PM
> Subject: Re: New sub: Black Britain( grasshopper) -Arthur
>
>
> > Dear Arthur,
> > Isn't the fact that you assumed from the title that it was about racism
a
> > comment on our attitudes ?
> > The poem is about the colour black, and the reality of the resonance
> > attached to that word. (Personally I've always thought that description
> odd
> > as few 'black' people have black skins, and though I am very pale, I'd
> > describe my colour as a Dulux 'hint-of-Magnolia rather than white.)
> > The poem was inspired by a Nigerian complaining about the amount of
black
> > being worn in Britain, but because of the associations with that word,
it
> > isn't that simple. It can't be -that's the dynamic of the poem for me.
> > Kind regards,
> >    grasshopper
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "arthur seeley" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 5:33 PM
> > Subject: Re: [THE-WORKS] New sub: Black Britain( grasshopper)
> >
> >
> > > I am trying to tie the poem into the title.
> > > Now either the poem is a comment on racism or it not.
> > > If it is a comment on racism then it is done metaphorically. So my
> > reasoning
> > > goes. The percentage figure hints at statistics so I might be right
but
> > then
> > > the rest crumbles in my fingers as a metaphor. Although 'black gives
you
> > > blues etc.' might be a hint of being onto the right track, pointing to
> the
> > > cultural dimension, but it still does not gel for me as metaphor for a
> > > comment on racism.
> > > So it is a poem about choosing colours for clothing and this leads me
> to,
> > > 'So what?' and 'What about that title?'
> > > Insect I hear you chirping in the springing grass but cannot find you.
> > > Regards Arthur.
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "grasshopper" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 2:17 AM
> > > Subject: New sub: Black Britain
> > >
> > >
> > > >             Black Britain
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Seventy percent of the clothes here
> > > > are black, he says.
> > > >
> > > > Do not wear black,
> > > > he says, your eyes breathe it in.
> > > > It poisons joy.
> > > >
> > > > Black gives you the blues and blues
> > > > endue black feelings.
> > > > He wraps himself in gold and orange.
> > > >
> > > > On Mondays,
> > > > Moondays,
> > > > he wears grey and silver,
> > > >
> > > > but never black.
> > > >
> > > >                                 grasshopper
> > >
>
>