Post by meshend38 on May 21, 2012 19:47:16 GMT -5
Good evening and welcome.
Tara Betts is the author of Arc & Hue and one of 2010 Essence Magazine’s top 40 favorite poets. She grew up as what she calls a “mixed girl”, and as such struggled through her early childhood uncertain about her identity. As she became older however, she began to turn to poetry as an outlet for her emotions. She describes her journey as a biracial woman in the United States as one in which she is constantly forced to choose between two different paths. At first she struggled to decipher where she really fell on the seemingly polar spectrum. However, she eventually came to the conclusion that she wasn’t simply black or white, but an intermediate: her own unique combination.
Through her poetry, Betts calls attention to this ‘grey area’. In her poem entitled “What It’s Like to Be a Mixed Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t)” Betts compares living as a biracial women in the 21st century to, “being painted with zebra stripes/With brushes that assume you’re confused/…classical & hip-hop cymbals clashing…/Because neither epithet fits.” Her hope is that one day other biracial people will not be forced to associate with only one half, but rather have the color of their skin not define who they are as a person.
It has been noted that Betts gives a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves, and in doing so she works to embody the emotions of the world into her works. Thus, Betts has become famous for her ability to write for the world rather than to it. Furthermore, Betts has long been an advocate against the brutality of daily life and of history itself, and as such many of her works center on the theme of violence. Some of the ‘violence of daily life’ that Betts works so hard to demolish can be associated with her desire to disintegrate the commonality of the fixated addiction Americans seem to have on the significance of one’s race. Through her poetry she expresses the importance of realizing that all the races that exist on our earth all together create one human race. Additionally, she hopes that one day the color of one’s skin will not define who someone is as a person, and thus no one color will represent anything another doesn’t.
To continue, Ms. Betts also strives to show the world the immense importance of moving forward in one’s life without being dragged down by negative memories. In her eyes the negative memories of the individual and of the country as a whole, serve as anchors prohibiting forward progression. In the title poem of her book, Arc & Hue, Betts makes mention to this very theme. Throughout her book, she expresses that memory is very manipulative, and the ease at which more positive memories can be put aside should be transferred towards the more negative ones too.
So, without further ado, tonight I am pleased to present to you author of Arc & Hue, contemporary poet and lecturer in creative writing Ms. Tara Betts.
Word Count: 517
Tara Betts is the author of Arc & Hue and one of 2010 Essence Magazine’s top 40 favorite poets. She grew up as what she calls a “mixed girl”, and as such struggled through her early childhood uncertain about her identity. As she became older however, she began to turn to poetry as an outlet for her emotions. She describes her journey as a biracial woman in the United States as one in which she is constantly forced to choose between two different paths. At first she struggled to decipher where she really fell on the seemingly polar spectrum. However, she eventually came to the conclusion that she wasn’t simply black or white, but an intermediate: her own unique combination.
Through her poetry, Betts calls attention to this ‘grey area’. In her poem entitled “What It’s Like to Be a Mixed Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t)” Betts compares living as a biracial women in the 21st century to, “being painted with zebra stripes/With brushes that assume you’re confused/…classical & hip-hop cymbals clashing…/Because neither epithet fits.” Her hope is that one day other biracial people will not be forced to associate with only one half, but rather have the color of their skin not define who they are as a person.
It has been noted that Betts gives a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves, and in doing so she works to embody the emotions of the world into her works. Thus, Betts has become famous for her ability to write for the world rather than to it. Furthermore, Betts has long been an advocate against the brutality of daily life and of history itself, and as such many of her works center on the theme of violence. Some of the ‘violence of daily life’ that Betts works so hard to demolish can be associated with her desire to disintegrate the commonality of the fixated addiction Americans seem to have on the significance of one’s race. Through her poetry she expresses the importance of realizing that all the races that exist on our earth all together create one human race. Additionally, she hopes that one day the color of one’s skin will not define who someone is as a person, and thus no one color will represent anything another doesn’t.
To continue, Ms. Betts also strives to show the world the immense importance of moving forward in one’s life without being dragged down by negative memories. In her eyes the negative memories of the individual and of the country as a whole, serve as anchors prohibiting forward progression. In the title poem of her book, Arc & Hue, Betts makes mention to this very theme. Throughout her book, she expresses that memory is very manipulative, and the ease at which more positive memories can be put aside should be transferred towards the more negative ones too.
So, without further ado, tonight I am pleased to present to you author of Arc & Hue, contemporary poet and lecturer in creative writing Ms. Tara Betts.
Word Count: 517