Dark Room Collective
The Dark Room collective started in Boston in 1988 by Thomas Sayers Ellis and Sharan Strange's group. The collective was often mistaken as a reading series, however, it was originally made to build a community of emerging African American Writers.
Urgent Telegram to Jean-Michel Basquait by Kevin Young
PoemHAVENT HEARD FROM YOU IN AGES STOP LOVE YOUR
LATEST SHOW STOP THIS NO PHONE STUFF IS FOR BIRDS LIKE YOU STOP ONCE SHOUTED UP FROM STREET ONLY RAIN AND YOUR ASSISTANT ANSWERED STOP DO YOU STILL SLEEP LATE STOP DOES YOUR PAINT STILL COVER DOORS STOP FOUND A SAMO TAG COPYRIGHT HIGH ABOVE A STAIR STOP NOT SURE HOW YOU REACHED STOP YOU ALWAYS WERE A CLIMBER STOP COME DOWN SOME DAY AND SEE US AGAIN END |
AnalysisThe title "Urgent Telegram to Jean-Michel Basquiat" implies that the poem is about someone trying to get a message to somebody named Jean-Michel Basquait. The poem is about someone missing someone and they're eager to hear from and or talk to them again. Young stated "Haven't heard from you in ages, stop love your latest show stop this no phone stuff is for birds". The writer is expressing how much he misses talking to Jean-Michel Basquait and how much he really wants to talk to her now. "Rain and your assistant answered stop do you still sleep late stop does your paint still cover doors stop found a samo tag copyright high." Young is painting a picture of pain. It is almost as though the writer misses the person so much that it hurts him that he hasn't talked to this person in so long. The poem is written in the form of a letter as though the write was writing this to someone in the hopes of them reading it. The theme of the poem is man vs. self because the writ is in a conflict as to whether he should continue to reach out to this individual or just leave them be.
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Literary DevicesThe literary devices that are used within this poem are hyperbole's, and personification. For example "Haven't heard from you in ages is an example of a hyperbole because it's an exaggeration. "Rain and your assistant answered" is an example of personification because rain cannot answer anything because it's not human. The purpose of these literary devices in the poem are to exaggerate and emphasize how much the writer misses this particular person. The literary devices are being applied throughout the poem to show the seriousness of the urgent message.
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