Introduction
A. Van Jordan is considered a contemporary poet and has written two books worth of good reading. He is a notable African American writer who also serves in the role of teacher. He is a graduate of Howard University, where he received his Master’s Degree. He considers writing poetry as “a journey of discovery” (Spectrum of Poetic Fire).
The poem “How Does A Man Write a Poem” is published in his book called “Rise”. It is published as part of a collection of poems that Van Jordan has written. The poem is structured with seven stanzas, six with three lines and the seventh with four lines.
“How Does A Man Write a Poem.”
This poem is written from the perspective of a man lying next to a woman in bed. Van Jordan uses metaphors to describe the environment the poet/man is in. He uses the time (midnight), and what the moon does to midnight to describe what the woman’s body does for the poetry he writes: lightens up the night or lightens up his words. In the third stanza, Van Jordan describes how easily the urge to write comes to him when he writes:
“Freely in that part of the mind
that makes a man hum or whistle-
when he least suspects it-“
He continues on in the fourth stanza what he started in the third:
“a tune that sticks to him for life.
Tonight, the song is a request:
Write me a poem, please.”
This is interesting because one can relate to the idea of a song or jingle stuck in one’s head. These songs come freely from commercials and songs song as a child. For this poet, who writes as creative expression, the jingle requesting a poem be written would seem quite natural.
In the fifth stanza, the poet lets the audience know what his subject is:
“But what is left to write,
when the poem is curled up next to him in bed,
her hair hanging over his chest,”
A poem can’t curl up next to him in bed! This is another metaphor used to describe his subject, who is the woman lying next to him in bed. Van Jordan uses another metaphor when he describes her breathings “a willow breathing in his ear?” in the sixth stanza.
The poem ends with the man pondering whether or not the woman loves him. And, it is with these thoughts that he picks up the pen and begins to write.
Works Cited:
Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. “An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 5th Compact Edition.
Spectrum of Poetic Fire. (2001). “A Van Jordan”. Web.