Abstract
Mullen was born in Alabama but grew up in Texas. She spent most of her childhood in the Lone Star state. She eventually earned a degree from a university in Austin, Texas. Mullen uses a personal technique to create poetry that reflects her sense of self-awareness, and she successfully combines this with her desire to provide social commentaries of the key issues that affect her external environment. She then takes the insights gleaned from these combined processes, and in turn, create poems that are both insightful and inspiring.
The proponent of this study attempts to understand Mullen unique style by focusing on several poems from her collections, and after analyzing how these poems were constructed, the analysis shifts to the identification of an emerging pattern after comparing these poems.
After an overview of her works, one can make the argument that Mullen was able to look deep into her inner-being, examine her strengths and weaknesses in order to create a connection with her external environment. This reveals a merging pattern, which is Mullen’s ability to humbly express her struggles, her deficiencies, and aspirations while at the same demonstrating her capability to integrate commentaries on how to make this world a better place.
Harryette Mullen’s Poetry
Born in Alabama, raised in Texas and earning a degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Mullen paved the way for a new kind of poetry creation that produced artistic works imbued with elements of her cultural and ethnic background. She elevated her creative works by using her keen sense of self-awareness combined with her ability to see the world unashamed and uninhibited. For example, she remembered her childhood in Texas framed by the fact that at that time, she was living in a segregated state (Mullen, 2017j, p.185).
Her ability to see the world in a two-way process both inwardly and outwardly was the theme that dominated her style of poetry. This translates to an emerging pattern characterized by the author’s humility to express her struggles, her deficiencies, and aspirations while at the same demonstrating capability to make poems with commentaries on how to make this world a better place.
A Self-Introspection with Serious Fun and Inventiveness
Mullen utilized a creative framework that called for the simultaneous processing of her inner self and the world around her (Mullen, 2017g). She exemplified the capability to administer a self-examination of her own heart and soul (Mullen, 2017l). Critics may say that there is nothing special about this ability because there are other people that utilized the same cognition process to acquire insights and solve problems, especially those related to intimate or personal issues (Mullen, 2017i). Mullen utilized her skills in an efficient manner because she did not shy away from talking about her flaws and her inadequacies (Mullen, 2017e).
At the same time, she has the rare talent of combining her reflective gifts with the diagnostic proficiency to figure out the social ills that made life difficult for her and her family (Mullen, 2017k). In one interview, the author revealed her motivation when she said that she needed to figure out how to expand the possibilities of writing African American poetry (Frost, 2013, p.413) This ability was in full display in her poetry collection labelled as the Tanka Diary, especially the poem entitled Awakened Too Early on Saturday Morning. Consider the following words:
Awakened too early on Saturday morning
by the song of a mockingbird
imitating my clock radio alarm (Mullen, 2017b).
As a result, it is not difficult to make this assertion, because Mullen demonstrated this style of writing in other poems that she had written in the past (Mullen, 2017f; Mullen, 2017l). It is not difficult to see an emerging pattern after comparing her artistic outputs.
In the poem Awakened Too Early on Saturday morning, the first stanza was devoted to the manifestation of a self-deprecating language, a type of personal expression that demonstrates a person’s lack of insecurity. Thus, she was able to acknowledge her weakness without any feeling of shame or self-doubt. It is a testament to her character. Furthermore, this stanza exemplified the process that was described earlier, which was Mullen’s capability to look deep inside her heart, because she never hesitates to speak out the truth even if she was voicing out statements that may harm her reputation or affect the way people perceive her value as a member of the community.
In this stanza, Mullen admitted that she woke up too early. In other words, she preferred to sleep late on weekends, however, in this case an ordinary creature was able to fool her into thinking that her alarm clock went off, and therefore, she was compelled to wake up from her slumber.
If Mullen’s intended message was to make people laugh, she would have chosen another type of bird. She would have said that a parrot or similar avian species possessing a complex voice box was making noises near her bedroom window to trick her into believing that she heard the sound from a trusted timekeeper. However, she did not say it was a parrot mimicking the sound of her alarm clock; she made a deliberate choice to say that it was a mockingbird.
Thus, there was a deeper meaning to the fact that she woke up one Saturday morning. One can argue that this was not without precedent. In fact, it seemed like an acknowledgement on her part that on several occasions, she was forced to work on a Saturday and the fact that she was easily persuaded to do the unthinkable. This made her realize that someone was mocking her for lacking the ability to discern the difference between truth and fallacy.
Without a doubt, poets are into self-introspection. However, Mullen set herself apart by using playful and inventive language (Conners, 2014, p.111). For example, it was artistic creativity that enabled her to juxtapose the mockingbird as both a creator of sound and as a commentary speaking about the problems in her life. In addition, she was also able to transmit her intended message using a carrier device painted with playful language (Hart, 2010, p.142). In other words, her poetry is unique because she found fault in her life when she used self-deprecating language. However, she does not take herself too seriously (Pereira, 2010, p.100). This was made clear in the playful language that was meant to lighten the mood of the poem.
In the second stanza, Mullen revealed the second component of the creative process, and that is the capability to switch the gaze of her magnifying glass and focus it on social issues. She said that she was walking through a green path enjoying her Saturday morning, but she was unable to enjoy the beauty and the intangible benefits of being in the garden because her earphones that were connected to an electronic device were feeding her the morning news. Mullen admitted that she was not absentmindedly listening to a piece of music or a song. In fact, the author revealed that she was too preoccupied with listening to the morning news (Mullen, “Awakened Too Early”). This particular stanza highlighted the social activism that pervaded her life.
It is interesting to note that although poets are quick to leverage the outcome of the self-introspection process into a commentary of the socio-political world contextualizing their existence, Mullen separates her style from them by clarifying the intersection of time and space using terms that enables the reader to visualize the socio-political environment that she was trying to address. For example, she made a reference to the use of earphones and listening to the news. Dropping these words in the poem allows the reader to decipher the time and to set aspect of the storytelling process.
In addition to the smart use of words as a way to frame the context of the narrative, she cannot help but leverage her skill in wordplay. This skill brings depth to the message, but at the same time it has the capability of buoying up the feelings or emotions of the reader to prevent him or her from feeling the negative impact of the sorrowful language used in the said poem. For example, she painted a scene wherein she was walking in the midst of a garden. All of a sudden, she exclaimed that there were buds in her ears, as if teasing the readers to imagine her with flower buds in her ears. In the next few lines, it was revealed through the context of the language that the buds she was referring to were actually earphones, an example of a modern gadget. She confirmed this by saying that she was listening to the news.
Dominant Theme and Emerging Pattern
At this point, it has been made clear that Mullen adhered to a complicated theme when creating this particular poem (Slot, 2014, p.160). The author created poetry using a thematic framework that leveraged an inward-looking and an outward looking process. In this poem, the self-examination that translated into a social commentary formed the basic structure of the creative work. However, Mullen enticed the readers to participate with her musings because she embellished the crude framework with decorations through the inventive and playful use of language (Graham & Ward, 2011, p.521). This style of poetry creation was manifested in other literary pieces.
In the poem entitled, Arrives Early for the Date, the creative work under the Muse and Drudge collection, Mullen utilized the same thematic process, but this time the self-examination and the social commentary occurs in the same line or in the same stanza. It was as if the moment the self-inspection or self-examination reaches a certain point, she turns the magnifying lens on the social context in order to explain the forces that compelled or persuaded the woman to act that way (Mullen, 2017a).
In this poem the woman admitted her shortcomings. However, the other stanzas revealed the social ills that made it difficult for her to follow social norms or legal procedures. In this poem Mullen once again revealed her ability to create social commentaries regarding the social norms that were created to facilitate the modern world’s dating schemes or the process that allows men and women to enter into a serious relationship.
In the poem entitled, Don’t Need Picket Fences, Brick Wall, the poet was not embarrassed to say that her family’s rough edges were enough to protect them from intruders. However, the focus shifted to the outside world, and she pointed out that even in the absence of brick walls or picket fences, the real reason for people’s hesitation to connect with other people is the fear of rejection. The last part of the poem talks about a person trying so hard to please others, describing a desperate attempt to earn the acceptance of his or her peers (Mullen, 2017d). This is an example of how she wanted to create a better world for her family.
In the poem entitled, Just as I am I Come, the author’s self-reflection caused her to admit her sorrows, failures, and indiscretions. However, she shifted the spotlight on those judging her, and then, she said that there is no point in trying to change herself for the sake of other people (Mullen, 2017f). This is a detailed example of adopting a particular behavior to make a world a better place.
In the poem entitled, Shedding Skin, Mullen revealed that she was putting on a tough exterior. However, she realized that this is not the right thing to do. Thus, she was more than willing to go through a process of molting in order to shed off unwanted external coverings. At the end of the poem, she revealed how she succeeded in the removal of lifeless and useless dead skin tissue. She said that it was through her interaction with an external world, something that is outside her body, that allowed her to get a fresh start (Mullen, 2017h). This is a good example of the expression of the dual process of looking within herself, and then, acknowledging her connection with the outside world.
In the poem entitled, Black Nikes, Mullen was at her best when she dissected how she felt about death. However, in quick transition, she swivelled around to condemn the world, especially lamenting the fact that people are so self-absorbed when it comes to material things and technology. Thus, they are unaware that death may come sooner than expected (Mullen, 2017c). This is a type of commentary that sets her poetry apart from poems that were created using a simple self-introspection process only. Other poems may talk about a particular subject matter that is found in the poet’s external environment. For example, a poet may talk about a tree, bridge, sky and building. However, in Mullen’s case she combined self-introspection with her observations of the outside world.
It is also important to point out that the use of the dual examination process for her inner-self and the world outside occurred almost instantaneously, alluding to the fact that one was dependent on another. Thus, once the self-examination component reached a specific milestone, she turned the magnifying lens on the social context in order to explain the forces that compelled or persuaded her to act that way (Fulton, 2012, p.22).
However, it is not accurate to view the process in a schematic or hierarchical way, so that the social commentary portion was dependent on the self-examination phase. It is possible to view the process as something akin to a pendulum swinging alternately to both sides (Fulton, 2012, p.22). For example, one can interpret the author’s failure to recognize the mocking sound of the bird due to a preoccupied mind filled with irrelevant news information. This is a good example of how Mullen was not afraid to expose her personal inadequacies in order to create a teaching moment for those who care to listen to her.
Conclusion
It was made clear that Mullen utilized a unique style of self-reflection, combined with the ability to examine her external environment in order to suggest solutions or explain why she is struggling in her life. In other words, she was able to demonstrate through her poems her capability to also crate social commentaries about issues that matter to her life. This is the emerging pattern in her work. It is as if she leveraged some form of a virtual magnifying glass that she turned on herself, and then when she’s satisfied with the findings, she turned around to use the same device on others or the social environment that she was living in. However, Mullen separated herself from other poets using the same process by injecting self-deprecating humor, inventiveness, and fun in her work. As a result, it is possible to detect an emerging pattern that combined two distinct processes characterized by self-introspection and the creation of commentaries on how to make the world a better place.
References
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Mullen, H. (2017i). Sun goes on shining. Web.
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Mullen, H. (2017k). The essence lady. Web.
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