Post 2: “Mother to Son” Thoughts
LAST WEEK, while listening to the “Writing Remix Podcast,” Stephanie Renée Payne mentioned a Langston Hughes poem entitled “Mother to Son.” She explained the poem was “written in the vernacular,” which I took to mean it was written as it would have been spoken. Her mention of the poem stood out to me because “vernacular literature” is something I have not considered, or rather encountered, before.
Here is the poem:
“Code meshing”, which was introduced in Vershawn Ashanti Young’s article “Should Writers Use They Own English?” has been in the back of my mind since I read about it. However, my issue with the article is its main point is largely concerning academic or professional writing. Other than it being inaccessible to me, academic writing is not the only thing I read and write. Young ignores things I love…
I love literature! I love books. I love plays. I love film and TV. Above all, I really love story-telling. My passion for literature/story-telling is so strong it convinced me to become an English major. Admittedly, my interests are limited, occupying the space between Young Adult Fiction and Fantasy. Still, to me, these are at some level a version of standard English. For example, have you ever really analyzed the dialogue of a YA novel? It’s often ingenuine and even cringe-inducing. Maybe I am reading the wrong books, but after reading Young’s article, my dilemma has been figuring out what vernacular writing looks like in things I read (or anywhere outside of academic writing). I am happy Payne gave me an answer.
“Mother to Son” is about a black mother talking to her son. I included two forms of the poem: a written version and a reading done by Oscar-winner Viola Davis. “Mother to Son” inarguably MUST BE READ OUT LOUD. At least for me, poems can be hard to understand. At times, they can be as inaccessible as academic journals. What I appreciate about Hughes’ poem (and Davis’s interpretation of it) is I understand it completely. The language is personal — I feel as though the mother is talking to me. I believed Young when he argued vernacular writing was more engaging, but Hughes has given an example to follow.
Moral of the story: even creative writing and/or literature benefits from different, authentic voices.
