Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"A Sewerplant Grows In Harlem Or I'm A Stranger Here Myself When Does The Next Swan Leave," a poem by Audre Lorde, confronts the limits and failures of language, particularly in a sociopolitical context where words are increasingly subjected to manipulation and distortion. The poem dives headlong into the grimy underbelly of human communication, questioning how language is often weaponized or sterilized to the point where meaningful discourse becomes impossible.

The opening lines set the tone, raising questions about how "the word" transforms - "made flesh made steel made shit." This transformation suggests a degradation of language, from the Biblical "word made flesh" to the corporeal and unappealing "made shit." The act of "ramming it into No Exit" alludes to Sartre's existentialist play, invoking a sense of futile struggle, much like an endless loop of unproductive conversations.

The term "editorial They" highlights an authoritarian figure, or establishment, that manipulates language for their own benefit. The phrase "prepare to smother the actual Us" emphasizes that the destructive power of language manipulation is not just rhetorical but can have real-world implications. Lorde is no stranger to confronting systemic inequities, and here she subtly underscores how the media can actively suppress marginalized communities through misinformation, thereby turning their lives and experiences into "all our shit, non-verbal."

The second part of the poem ventures into the personal and psychological implications of such a failure of language. The speaker describes the frustration of being filled with a pressing insight, only to find that nobody is willing or able to receive it. The sleep or drugged state of "all ears" is a metaphor for the public's disengagement or apathy toward truth or earnest communication. This kind of mental and emotional blockage is further stressed by the repeated lines, "The mind you have reached is not a working mind / Please hang up and die again," echoing the automated messages we hear when we can't get through to someone on a phone - a stark contrast to the urgency of meaningful communication that is needed but not achieved.

The concluding line, "Talking to some people is like talking to a toilet," is scathing in its simplicity. It captures the emotional exhaustion and futility the speaker feels while also linking back to the poem's earlier discussion about waste, cleanliness, and the management of what is considered undesirable. The toilet becomes a symbol for people who are receptacles for words but do not engage in active, constructive dialogue; they simply "flush away" the potential for meaningful interaction.

In this poem, Audre Lorde navigates the murky waters of language, politics, and the limits of communication, giving us a view into the disconnection that can occur both societally and personally when language fails us. Her brutally honest critique serves as a call to action for greater awareness and responsibility in how we wield and respond to words in an ever-complex world.

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