The Power of Literature
“Poetry is not a luxury.”
In February 2004, following a series of harsh weather conditions, workmen in the quiet Cumbrian village of Sedgwick unearthed a gruesome discovery which would shock the world. Washed up by the village’s River Kent, lay the skeletal and decomposed remains of Shafilea Ahmed.
Missing since September 2003, it was secondary school teacher Joanne Code who had alerted her disappearance to authorities, unbeknownst to the sadistic ambivalence of her parents.
With uncooperative parents, who were now the prime suspects in her murder, police now faced a roadblock when attempting to pursue the case. Threatened into silence by her parents, it would take nine years for Shafilea’s younger sister Alesha to come forward as a witness to her sister’s murder.
However, when addressing the jury in court, another key piece of evidence would soon come to light, effectively cementing her parents’ guilt. This evidence was Shafilea’s poetry (scroll below to read Ahmed’s poetry).
Whilst literature is often seen as a mechanism to enhance social privilge, this is not always the case. Often, many ethnic minorities turn to literature as a creative outlet to release a lot of their anguish.
This can, however, come at a social cost, best evidenced by Hollywood’s fixation on stereotypical depictions of suffrage and socio-political bargaining. This trend is often referred to as ‘Black Pain’, or colloquially, ‘Black Pain porn’.
Whilst the topic of “Black Pain” in film and literature is a controversial one, it is worth remembering that literature can have a profound effect on healing the soul and body.
Maya Angelou, who was often praised as ‘the black woman’s poet laureate’, captured the minds of the American nation when she wrote her biography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. In the moving autobiography, Angelou, who had been sexually abused as a child, using her prose to explain how literature helped her overcome the trauma of sexual abuse and racism.
Whilst Maya Angelou never did become America’s state-appointed poet laureate (which is still a point of contention for many), her bravery in discussing the power of literature gave many the courage to enter the difficult field.
Often, when ethnic minorities attempt gain entry into the literary minefield they are shunned by society. This is primarily due to the nature of canonical texts being less than representative of such individuals or the society they live in.
Poet and musician Gil Scott Heron lamented on this issue by famously coining the phrase ‘the revolution will not be televised’ and this sentiment resonated with many black artists.
A famous examplesof this lies with the king of West Coast rap himself, Tupac Amaru Shakur.
Better known by his mononym Tupac (sometimes spelled 2Pac), when attempting to gain entry into the world of poetry, Tupac found himself being racially profiled into the hip-hop scene instead. He thus chose to convert the iambic pentameter of his poetry into lyrical rap.
Following his tragic murder in a drive-by-shooting in 1996, his mother Afeni Shakur chose to commemorate her late son in 1999 by publishing his poetry in an anthology named ‘The Rose That Grew from Concrete’.
The Rose That Grew from Concrete.
“Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.”
The titular poem is a profound piece of prose which uses the metaphor of a rose growing out a suburban concrete footpath to demonstrate how people can defy expectations. This work was, of course, reflective of Tupac’s own life.
It is worth mentioning, however, that there is nothing inherently wrong with most canonical texts. Shakespeare after all taught us how to love and laugh, with famous works like “Twelfth Night” astutely analysing the complexity of gender and identity, whilst adding a jovial and comedic flair. This technique proved, yet again, that the Bard was truly ahead of his time. However, to fix the enigma of literary inequality, we often have to start from the ground up.
Many writers are now taking to addressing youth groups, and organisations like Creative Access are providing opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities to enter the art world.
As spoken-word (a type of performative poetry, typically, but not exclusively, associated with ethnic minorities) begins to grow in notoriety, I for one am ready for a new genre of black and brown excellence to take the world of literature by storm.
Resources:
If you, are anyone you know, is experiencing gender-based and/or honour-based violence please use the following resources below:
Karma Nirvna is a domestic abuse charity that specialises in honour-based violence and forced marriage.
Southall Black Sisters is a domestic abuse charirty that speciailises women with insecure immigration status.
Apna Haq is a domestic abuse charity for black and minoritised women.
Safety4Sisters is a domestic abuse charity for black and minoritised women.
Humraaz is a domestic abuse charity for black and minoritised women.
Sister Shack is a community interest company that offers resources for learning and advice. This includes an activism and domestic abuse resource page, book club and podcast. They also help aspiring minoritised women gain access into the creative arts.
All of the charities above are monitored by Imkaan, the only UK-based, umbrella women's organisation dedicated to addressing violence against Black and Minoritised women and girls. They are also in partnership with Women’s Aid, who work alongside Refuge.
Please note that Imkaan and Refuge are solely advice organisations, and if you need help with gaining access to refuges, please see the charities bullet-pointed above, or look to the government guidance on how to flee domestic abuse.
If you are in immediate danger dial 999.
Appendix:
Image of Shafilea Ahmed and poetry was obtained by Cosmopolitan. Details of her case can also be found here. I created the graphic design using Canva.
Sketch of Tupac Shakur has been derived from Deviant Art by Mike Robins. Click the hyperlink to support his work.
I photographed the blog thumbnail using a Canon EOS 700D camera, in the University of Liverpool’s School of Arts Library. Click the homepage to see links to some of my other photography.