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Blog 1: Alberto Rios, THE GATHERING EVENING
"Alberto Rios, THE GATHERING EVENING"
The writer Alberto Rios grew up in a border town in the mid 20th century. He has a mixed-race background, his mom is of English heritage, and his dad is of Mexican heritage. The relevance to this poem is that we often see the speaker describing the lack of insight that both the reader and the speaker have. The speaker uses “We” as the pronoun when describing, not paying attention and not seeing the work that is happening behind the scenes, in the dark of night. The poem “THE GATHERING EVENING” is about the immigrant struggle and work to provide a better life for the children. The speaker is speaking from the point of view as the child of immigrants.
In the first stanza, “Shadows are the patient apprentices of everything.” The shadow is regulated into the shadows as helpers or assistants, “patient apprentices”. The shadow both personifies and symbolizes the immigrant's invisibility. We see this continue in the third stanza, “We don’t pay attention, we don’t see The dark writing of the pencil, the black notebook.” We see the same motif of darkness invisibility. Where what they're taking note of and learning is shrouded in mystery. Something that the audience doesn’t see. This pronoun “we” continues to show up. We, the audience and the speaker, don't see the sacrifices happening behind the scenes. Additionally, in the seventh stanza, “Night is all of them comparing notes, So many gathering that their crowd”. This stanza reminds me of night classes, adult learning classes, maybe even English as a second language class. This is quiet self-improvement happening, in real-time. At night, where they are surrounded only by their peers. People who also understand and are going through the same immigrant struggle. In the ninth stanza, “One day they will have learned it all. One day they will step out, in front,” In this stanza we see, a dramatic tone shifts from meek and quiet to declarative. This is declaring the triumph of the immigrant, over the barriers they’ve faced. In the tenth stanza, “And we will follow them, be their shadows,” This is the speaker relating himself to the struggle and learning from his parents' sacrifices.
The structure of the poem is two lines per stanza; this mimics the nature of moving up in society. Where you do it step by step and the overall lesson that the poem relays this same point. The improvement of your position within society happens gradually. Almost generationally, this is conveyed in the last stanza “The centuries it takes”, while centuries might be a hyperbole, the prior stanza, “we will follow them, be their shadows, And work for our turn”. That is the hand off from parent to child. The child will learn from the parent as that “patient apprentice”, mentioned in the first line. Not to be regulated to the shadows, but to have a seat at the table. As the following line declares, “work for our turn” suggests working, for your turn at the table, not just as a shadow, but as a full member of society.
Word Count: 515
Stevenson, P. (2004). Alberto Rios. Historical League.
https://historicalleague.org/historymakers/alberto-rios/
Nationaal Archief. (2008). Vader en kind met kerstboom (3118322894).jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Vader_en_kind_met_kerstboom_%283118322894%29.jpg.
Blog 2: Alberto Rios, THE DOG INSIDE MINE
A thought I've had for a while
a general statement of the poem’s content
an analysis of the speaker/persona
a discussion of the title’s significance
a detailed response to a specific line or lines
an examination of poetic techniques used, such as imagery, tone, simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, lineation, structure…
a close analysis of the poet’s diction, perhaps noting specific word choices, or connotation and denotation
an explanation of where the poem’s shift occurs, or shifts if there are multiple
a discussion of the writer's life and its relevance to the poem
a statement relating the poem to your experience or ideas
an explanation of problems you had in understanding the poem
an analysis of the structure of the poem
your opinion of the poem, good or bad, supported by specific references from the poem
Blog 3: Alberto Rios, THE LEMON KIND OF BASEBALL
A thought I've had for a while
a general statement of the poem’s content
an analysis of the speaker/persona
a discussion of the title’s significance
a detailed response to a specific line or lines
an examination of poetic techniques used, such as imagery, tone, simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, lineation, structure…
a close analysis of the poet’s diction, perhaps noting specific word choices, or connotation and denotation
an explanation of where the poem’s shift occurs, or shifts if there are multiple
a discussion of the writer's life and its relevance to the poem
a statement relating the poem to your experience or ideas
an explanation of problems you had in understanding the poem
an analysis of the structure of the poem
your opinion of the poem, good or bad, supported by specific references from the poem
Blog 4: Alberto Rios, SMALL RISINGS
A thought I've had for a while
a general statement of the poem’s content
an analysis of the speaker/persona
a discussion of the title’s significance
a detailed response to a specific line or lines
an examination of poetic techniques used, such as imagery, tone, simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, lineation, structure…
a close analysis of the poet’s diction, perhaps noting specific word choices, or connotation and denotation
an explanation of where the poem’s shift occurs, or shifts if there are multiple
a discussion of the writer's life and its relevance to the poem
a statement relating the poem to your experience or ideas
an explanation of problems you had in understanding the poem
an analysis of the structure of the poem
your opinion of the poem, good or bad, supported by specific references from the poem
Blog 5: Alberto Rios, SIGNAL RIGHT
A thought I've had for a while
a general statement of the poem’s content
an analysis of the speaker/persona
a discussion of the title’s significance
a detailed response to a specific line or lines
an examination of poetic techniques used, such as imagery, tone, simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, lineation, structure…
a close analysis of the poet’s diction, perhaps noting specific word choices, or connotation and denotation
an explanation of where the poem’s shift occurs, or shifts if there are multiple
a discussion of the writer's life and its relevance to the poem
a statement relating the poem to your experience or ideas
an explanation of problems you had in understanding the poem
an analysis of the structure of the poem
your opinion of the poem, good or bad, supported by specific references from the poem
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