Of the detectives & forensic scientists, reporters.Ī maid sold the penny she found for a pretty penny Jackson & Abernathy gathered a few of the coinsįor themselves. When MLK was shot his blood changed to change Through his poems, Hayes makes perhaps his most convincing argument of all: for art’s capacity to profoundly alter how we view ourselves and our world.Īmerican Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin For decades, Terrance Hayes has unpacked the psyche of race and masculinity in America, with images that are as transformative as they are haunting. This speaks to another reason I’ve selected Hayes’ poem.
He also highlights the role of art in the struggle, bringing into the poem the great jazz musician Charlie Parker, colloquially known as Bird. Dubois who preceded King and Jesse Jackson who continued the struggle after King’s death as well as several unnamed, ordinary individuals. He reminds us that the fight for equality extends beyond King and that change is larger than any one person. As the poem advances, Hayes expands this argument.
The sonnet is the quintessential poetic form of argument, and with Hayes’ innovative use of the form he lays out a powerful argument indeed: that King’s assassination led to change. The obvious one is today is MLK day-when we reflect not only on the life of the man but on what his life represents: the ongoing pursuit of full civil rights for Black Americans. I chose “American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin” as today’s poem for several reasons. Hayes has had a long connection to the city of Pittsburgh, studying poetry there as a graduate student, then returning to teach at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Today’s poem comes from his most recent book, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin.
Terrance Hayes is the author of six prize-winning collections of poetry and has received numerous accolades for his work including a MacArthur Fellowship and a National Book Award. Today’s poem is “American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin” by Terrance Hayes.
Host Shara McCallum is this year’s Penn State Laureate. Poetry Moment on WPSU is a program featuring the work of contemporary Pennsylvania poets.
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