The most obvious theme present in ZaatarDiva is the concept of feminism. In “Letter to Anthony (Critical Resistance)”, Hammad talks about how women are frequently objectified in the United States. This might seem normal in this country, but like she talks about in “Letter to Anthony,” this is not normal in different countries. This is a very American thing to do and should not exist in our society. There is one poem in particular that stands out to me which displays the resistance of women subjected to being “dolled up” everyday in order to be to feel pretty to others. In her poem “Lipstick,” the lipstick represents all of the make up we use. For example she states, “I am tubes into not a salve a false savior sold over counters.” “Lipstick” also supports the fact that women use these tools in order to fell pretty to men. Lipstick symbolizes how men objectify women.
I still can't post my own blog on here so I'm doing my blog assignment in this comment. I want to talk about "love poem" and "of woman torn" in relation to themes of feminism and love as resistance in suheir hammad's poetry.
ReplyDeleteIn "love poem," suheir expresses a motherly love and deep concern and caring for Palestinian children victimized by war. Her love is a resistance to the violence of the Israeli army. She uses striking one-liners that shock the reader into realizing the brutality of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict like "the israeli army shoots children in the head." the speaker's way of loving is to provide safety--to "open" her body up and bring the children of palestine back within her, an act almost like keeping them from being born, or giving them the possibility of rebirth. the bringing of the children back inside her also conflates the woman's body with land, and the notion of returning back to the homeland after being displaced. humanizing details like "make love everywhere always" and the mentioning of ancestry, vision, memory and spirituality suggest the ultimate safe space is in the love of humanity. it is through this love that an end to violence can be attained.
"of woman torn" also conflates the woman's body with land, this time specifically with Palestine. zaatar, olive trees and almonds are symbols of palestine that are entwined with the woman's body, in her scent, her skin and her hair. in describing the horrific victimization of women in war and cultural practices, such as rape, abuse of woman who are impregnated out of wedlock, suicide of women, and decapitation by the father, the speaker makes the statement that the abuse/desecration of women through sexism is interrelated to the abuse/desecration of Palestine through war. this is such a poetic way to express anti-war feminism--hammad takes a topic (abuse of women during wartime) that has been discussed so much that it has become trite in mainstream culture, and she completely humanizes it, puts it in a new context, and makes us realize connections that we may have overlooked before. this is one of my favorite poems of this semester.