Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Evening News" by Audre Lorde presents an anguished panorama of the global struggle for justice and survival. The poem opens with an advice-laden declaration: "First rule of the road: attend quiet victims first." From the outset, the poet sets a tone of urgency and responsibility. In addressing Winnie Mandela, the South African activist, Lorde signals the reader to the larger social and political context. The poem becomes a conversation between two women embedded in different but interconnected systems of oppression.

Lorde is keenly aware of the oppressive forces that prey on bodies, especially those of marginalized women. She presents vivid images such as children jailed for inciting riots in Soweto and Winnie Mandela's "seed" being mixed "with the vultures' seed," suggesting the violation and annihilation of Black lives. Yet amid this suffering, women like the "Ganvie fisherwomen" still protect and nurture, hiding a fish "with the face of a small girl" in their boats. These acts of protection and resistance coalesce into a larger narrative of survival and resilience.

The speaker reveals that she is kneading bread while contemplating these crises. Bread-making serves as a metaphor for sustenance, both physical and emotional. Kneading the dough becomes a ritual act, an assertion of life in the face of death. Lorde infuses the domestic with the political, implying that the personal and the global are intertwined.

The pain experienced is both literal and metaphorical; Lorde writes, "I am feeling your face / with the pain of my crippled fingers." These "crippled fingers" can be seen as representative of the traumas that these women bear-yet they still have the capacity to feel and empathize. The poem addresses the horror that the wars are "being fought by our children," showcasing an intergenerational impact that amplifies the tragedy. The speaker's quest for identity, solidarity, and memory leads her to acknowledge that names are not just labels but repositories of history and resistance: "Winnie Mandela our names / are olives salt sand."

The poem's concluding line, "any wound will stop bleeding / if you press down / hard enough," serves as a brutal reality check. It implies that the only way to survive is by applying pressure on the wounds, both literally and metaphorically. But the caveat is clear: pressing down hard may stop the bleeding, but it doesn't address the root causes of the wound or promise healing.

"Evening News" is a harrowing yet deeply compassionate look at the intersection of personal pain and political struggle. Through the communal experience of women like Winnie Mandela and the speaker herself, Audre Lorde addresses not just the toll of systemic violence but also the resilience and resistance of those who bear its weight. It serves as both a lament and a clarion call, emphasizing the responsibility we have to address the wounds of the world, even if only to keep them from bleeding.

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