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Two Voice Poetry on Selma to Montgomery

Two Voice Poetry on Selma to Montgomery

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I am trying to write a poem for the anniversary of the walk from Selma to Montgomery and the civil rights movement. It is something that the more I research the more it means to me. I want to set up a poem that visually looks like a road that the marchers would walk on. On each side of the road, I want the most ignorant hateful racists yelling racial slurs and derogatory comments at the marchers. The most hateful of these words will be as stones or rocks thrown. I want these slurs to be in vernacular and to come from both sides of the road. Moreover, no matter what they say I want the marchers and Dr. King to remain silent along the poem and the march I want the slurs to slowly break down and eventually become silence...with the last words being we overcame. I think the best way to do this is to use two-voice poetry to be read simultaneously. The trick is how I accomplish this. I just read a Joyous noise for a couple of examples, does anyone have any ideas or comments. I want this to be powerful and moving...please help

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Originally posted by deathbypawn
So I am trying to write a poem for the anniversary of the walk from Selma to Montgomery and the civil rights movment. It is something that the more I research the more it means to me. I want to set up a poem that visually looks like a road that the marchers would walk on. On each side of the road I want the most ignorant hateful racists yelling racial sl ...[text shortened]... les, Does anyone have any ideas or comments. I want this to be powerful and moving...please help
In addition to poetry written in two or more parallel columns, of which there are countless examples, you might take a look at two books by American Indian poets: The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday, and From Sand Creek by Simon Ortiz. These two books offer ways of inscribing together history and poetry in complementary ways.