Script Draft for Radio Show
(some formatting issue occurred when moving from my google document)
Introduction ………………………………………………………Wanda Coleman once said
(0.25) “Words seem inadequate in
expressing the anger and outrage I feel at the persistent racism that permeates every aspect of black American life. Since words are what I am best at, I concern myself with this as an urban actuality best I can”. Hi I’m Eileen Musico and today I will be talking about the poetic form of the blues in modern times and its developments and similarity
(Segment 1):
Background on form……………………………………………..In the 1900s the blues gained more
(0.25) fame as more distinct performance
styles became popular such as the
“Mississippi Blues” and “Memphis
Blues” along with many other
stylistic performances incorporating
this form. The Blues were often used
to portray human emotions usually
those of marginalized people. Blues
poems are based around diction,
tone and imagery.
(Segment 2):
General Comment on form…………………………………….The form usually uses many different
(0.25) varieties of rhyme scheme in a three
or four line stanza. In order to build a more complex narrative the form usually takes on a specific rhyme scheme in which the third line of the opening stanza is used as a refrain for the succeeding stanzas. Or the form can become as simple as rhyming a certain word within each of the three or four stanzas.
(Segment 3):
Blues and imagery, diction and tone………………………….In order to help develop a clear idea
(1.00) or narrative blues poems use
imagery, tone and diction. In the
book An Exaltation on Forms
Raymond Patterson states “ Some
traditional blues lyrics simply
assemble stanzas of discrete
engagements with the bitter facts of
life, expressing them in vivid,
concrete images” This imagery can
also relate back to the cold
description of marginalized peoples
struggles. Blues diction is often
described as electric or exhilarating
and is based on what you would
hear while just walking down the
streets of Harlem in the 1920s it was
essentially centered around what is
called an African-inflected English as
described by Walt Whitman. This
helped to better represent the blues
meaning and the infliction it had
upon human emotions when it came
to marginalized people not only in
the 1920s but in modern times as
well.
(Segment 4):
Modern Blues focuses on Wanda Coleman………………..Wanda Coleman is a blues poet who
(1:30) put a lot of passion into her work but
saw little reward most of the time.
However, this didn’t stop her Wanda
used her platform in order to highlight
her struggles growing up in poverty in
Los Angeles California often in what
seemed to be an unapologetic tone. In
her poem “The Saturday Afternoon
Blues” you can see the use of her
unapologetic tone especially in these
specific lines “The man I love is a killer
The man I love is a thief The man I
love is a junky The man I love is grief”.
The tone, diction and imagery used in
These lines help us see the bigger
picture of things relating to her life
being a young black woman living in
poverty. The imagery used helps us
visualize a sort of street life surrounded
by drugs, dealers, junkies and criminals
and how its hard to escape that lifestyle
especially in the unpleasant parts of
L.A. which are often covered up but still
lurk in the shadows. The tone also
sounds unapologetic in a more complex
way; she talks about her undenying love
for a man who is a killer, thief and junkie
and professes it to him but she still has a
buildup of grievances within herself due
to this love that cannot be shaken. This
poem is spoken by a man who is a fan of
this poem was written by Wanda
Coleman.
Insert VO……………………………………………………………………………………………………
(2:16)-(2:28)
(Segment 5)
Continue……………………………………………………He clearly swaps out the word man for
(0.25) woman. However, you can still hear that
his tone of voice is trying to convey a
feeling of feeling unapologetic because
she cannot help the way she feels
although she is ashamed of it at the end of
the day. The diction in this line is also
emphasized clearly in order to show the
struggle within his voice and how it is hard
for her to break free of this love and
lifestyle surrounded by poverty.
(Segment 6)
Amiri Baraka…………………………………………….
