Discussion Quotes and Comments 16 - Terrance Hayes - How to Be Drawn
Hi all,
We're switching gears completely and covering some very contemporary poetry for the remainder of this week, as well as a new Discussion/hw format. Due tonight is a reading of Terrance Hayes' How to Be Drawn. Dr. Yolanda Franklin will be joining us tomorrow morning to discuss the book, so tonight, instead of DQs, please quote a few passages from the book which stood out as interesting to you. Please include your quote in the comments and explain why each of them was interesting or stood out to you.
Any and all poems for the book are welcome- since it's a collection, you can read the poems in any order and quote from them in any order as well.
Thanks! Looking forward to tomorrow.
We're switching gears completely and covering some very contemporary poetry for the remainder of this week, as well as a new Discussion/hw format. Due tonight is a reading of Terrance Hayes' How to Be Drawn. Dr. Yolanda Franklin will be joining us tomorrow morning to discuss the book, so tonight, instead of DQs, please quote a few passages from the book which stood out as interesting to you. Please include your quote in the comments and explain why each of them was interesting or stood out to you.
Any and all poems for the book are welcome- since it's a collection, you can read the poems in any order and quote from them in any order as well.
Thanks! Looking forward to tomorrow.
“ Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities of the soul. “
ReplyDeleteI found this quote interesting because it gets you thinking about the concept of a “soul” and the many parts to it. It’s a new for me to think how trouble effects us as people, and how it brings out so many qualities in us that we didn't know we possessed. For example, trouble can bring out the sincere side of someone who is usually full of anger, or violence in a sweet soul.
“ I wanted to be a ghost because the skull is just a few holes covered in meat. “
This quote caught my attention because I’ve never though of the human body in that type of way. To me, this makes me feel like Hayes doesn’t fully appreciate the gift of life, mostly because he looks at the human body in a negative and rather disappointing way and would rather be a body-less ghost.
"They make verbs of bauble, whatever that means. Bubbles of oohs ooze and the mouths of each second do their guppy tick, that gulping shit to live"
ReplyDeleteI just really like this quote from Tribe Party because of how it sounded when I read it in my head. I think Hayes tried rlly hard to make this sentence as weird as possible and its just really fun to say.
"What can you run from that does not inevitably find you, that you do not inevitably return to, that does not inevitably run from you?"
From Tribe Hunt, thought it was just an interesting statement and I wonder what Hayes meant by this
My favorite quote says "never mistake what it is for what it looks like." This quote relates to almost everything that we can think about from people to foods to stores etc... Things we see in our everyday lives. I like how he took a spin on don't judge a book by its cover and added it into his story.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote is "trouble is one of the ways we discover complexities about the soul" which is extremely true. Everyone learns from mistakes and through their experiences and this quote just tells the truth about it and it applies to everyone.
Karina Amalbert
ReplyDelete"She would not let the troubled world inside. It was no one's fault"
This quote stood out due to the reality behind it. Hayes really captures the reality of the "streets" and the burden parents carry to protect their child from harm and then accepting it is truly no one's faults for the occurences that happen.
"I, for one, don't trust the police because they go around looking"
Many people may disagree with me on this one, but until it happens to you, the paranoia never leaves.
"I am so fucking vain I cannot believe anyone is threatened by me"
I found this pretty funny due to the fact of vain being vanity which would make people feel threatened but he states his disbelief. It is almost sarcastic to society now a days.
"Some of my sons will wait their whole lives to board an ark called American Beauty"
Not sure if he meant migration or just the ideology of America being the standard but either way it is an everyday reality.
"Being a doll is as close as a toy a toy can come to slavery"
Hayes hit the core with this one as it has become a habit for girls to look for men who will take care of them instead of the women taking care of herself! This is also one of the few times I have seen Hayes speak on women empowerment.
Isaac Bendus
ReplyDelete8/1/17
“Don’t you lie about who you are sometimes and then realize the lie is true? You are blind to your power, Brother Bastard, like the king who wanders his kingdom searching for the king. And that’s okay. No one will tell you you are the king.”
This Quote was very interesting to me. In my opinion Hayes is trying to say If you pretend to be someone else then you will eventually become that person. It is all in the human will power.
“The Music I have been playing All my life is about pimps and who will be pimped, but when my daughter is listening, I will play something else”
This quote is funny because I think Hayes is playing into one of the many ironies of being human. He plays music that objectifies women until he has a daughter, then he is totally against that message and its harm.
Brieanna Graves
ReplyDelete8-1-17
"..like the king who wanders his kingdom searching for the king. And thats okay. No one will tell you are the king. No one really wants to be a king anyway." I felt this quote is interesting because it pointed out that people wouldn't want the fame, money, and popularity that comes with being a king? Personally, I wouldn't mind not having to worry.
"A bandanna is a useful handkerchief, but a handkerchief is a useless-ass bandanna." I found this quote interesting because it is very true. Use a bandanna as a handkerchief but the opposite is just weird.
Kylie Simmons
ReplyDeleteAugust 1, 2017
From "How to Draw a Perfect Circle" I liked the quote, "You must look without looking to make the perfect circle. The line, the mind must be a blind continuous liquid until the drawing is complete." I chose this quote because I thought of it outside of drawing. You must live life without directions, go with the flow, take chances, etc. I think that is a great quote to live life by.
From "What It Look Like," I chose the quote "I care less and less about the shapes of shapes because forms change and nothing is more durable than feeling." I liked this quote because I interpreted it as him saying he cares less about materialistic items and more about the feeling something gives him. That stood out to me because in today's society, everyone is obsessed with material items.
From "What It Looks Like" I also chose the quote "never mistake what it is for what it looks like" because I thought of "don't judge a book by its cover", and I wonder if it has the same meaning.
Daniella Alamo
ReplyDelete“Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities Of the soul.”
I found this quote intriguing because it made me really think about the ways our souls are so complex and what affects us and what doesn’t. We must learn from our troubles and past experiences to be able to move on.
"Never mistake what it is for what it looks like"
I found this quote very accurate because many times we try to make something out to be something its not. We must always remember what the truth is regardless if its something we don’t want to believe.
Kevin Clifford
ReplyDelete8/01/17
One of the most interesting quotes I read from this was "How to Draw a Perfect Circle". Terrance Hays says "I can imitate the spheres of the model’s body, her head,Her mouth, the chin she rests at the bend of her elbow But nothing tells me how to make the pupils spiral". I feel like this quote is saying there is only so much you can do to make an image of something, and everyone on earth has a different character to them. I think the spiral symbolizes individuality, and you can only guide someone so far.
Another quote from this book I found to be intriguing was when he said "Life is not about what you learn, really, but what you remember. I found this to be really powerful because we learn so much in our everyday lives, and the most important thing is to take what we learn and apply it to our lives. The only way we can do that is if we remember what we learn, and use our knowledge to grow.
"...because my good sense tells me he is someone Death wants to educate." I thought this was a really cool quote because I believe we all know someone that takes risks and acts like they are invincible but in reality, they are not and other can sense that.
ReplyDelete"Of twanging that talk that sounds like money, that ricochet encasement that's twelve degrees wide. Oooed & Eeeeked with possibility. & that able-joyed." I interpreted this quote by someone who hates it when people talk about money and how it controls our lives, yet it is what everyone knows.
Sean Butler
ReplyDelete"Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities Of the soul."
This quote seemed significant to me because of the way the author is relating to himself and the audience, as if he is giving advice.
"Life is not about what you learn, really, but what you remember."
This quote caught my attention because in life almost everything you do involves something you have done or at least thought about doing in the past, and also not making a mistake you have previously made for example.
"Never mistake what it is for what it looks like." This quote is really just something I enjoyed thinking about. It's something nice to live by. This was taken from the poem "What It Look Like"
ReplyDelete"There are theories about freedom, and there are songs that says none of us are free." This quote was taken from "How to be Drawn to Trouble". I found this very interesting because to me, freedom is something that everyone deserves, but there is always a way that ties us down, whether it be relationships, laws, or just life itself.
August 1st, 2017
ReplyDeleteOne quote that stood out as interesting to me in “How To Be Drawn” was “A bandanna is a useful handkerchief, but a handkerchief is a useless-ass bandanna”. I found this quote interesting because it is funny how accurate the quote is. It also has a little humor to it because I’m sure people have used a bandanna as a handkerchief before. But I’m sure nobody has used a handkerchief as a bandanna.
Another quote I found interesting was, “Trill stands for what is truly real though it may be hidden by the houses just over the hills between us, by the hands on the bars between us”. This quote was interesting and stood out to me because you can’t really tell what Terrance Hayes is referring to.
"My uncle used the money I gave him to buy a few vials of what looked like candy"
ReplyDeleteThis Quote was found in "What It Look Like" and it stuck out to me because in many modern Rap songs, similar lines are used. I can almost guarantee that Hayes is referring to drugs being in the vials. This is a growing issue that needs to be stopped.
"There are theories about freedom, and there is a song that says None of us are free."
I wonder why Hayes chose to include this in his poem, and also, what is the explanation to these lines?
“Brothers and sisters, when you spend your nights
ReplyDeleteout on a limb, there’s a chance you’ll fall in your sleep.”
This quote stood out to me because it metaphorically interprets when putting yourself out there, there comes risks. When reading about the author I further understood this quote as a way for readers to see the risk that Terrance takes when writing his poems as he is an African American poet.
“It might be the white woman or man our son or daughter will marry and the white woman or man our grandson or granddaughter will marry, all of them wading into the future until one of our line claims to be Sicilian.”
This quote is from Wind in a Box in the collection of poems. It interested me because Terrance Hayes talks a lot about race in his writing and this quote triggers the civil rights movement to me, as it was difficult for people to stand up for themselves, but in time things will change. I think he portrays evolution and the cycle of life in relation to civil rights and the hope that eventually equality will include everyone.
Ethan Vaughan 8/1
ReplyDelete1. "First, I would like to have with 196 women from the world's 196 nations 196 children, then I would like to abandon them. "
What is the meaning of this? Why would you want to abandon your children?
2. "I wish I were as tolerant as Walt Whitman, waltzing across the battlefield like a song, covering a cry of distress, but I want to be a storm."
I can't tell if this is sarcastic. Whitman wasn't in favor of expanding slavery but he also didn't vehemently push for abolition and didn't support the right of free slaves to vote.
"Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities of the soul." This is interesting to me as learning more about yourself is very important to me. Terrance Hayes offers the idea that stress and adversity is a method of doing so.
ReplyDelete"Before I trust the god who makes me rot, I trust you, Piano. Something deathless fills your wood." Hayes makes it obvious he has great respect for music as an art, along with the artists who make it. In this excerpt he highlights his feeling by explaining that he cares more for the piano than for religion itself.
"Never mistake what it is for what it looks like" I just genuinely really like this line, to me it could mean multiple things but I related it to my life by like if a guy is a cute douche bag don't mistake that he's just cute because he may be cute but he's an asshole... I feel like this line is relevant in some many areas in people's lives
ReplyDeleteI also liked the quote about freedom "there are theories about freedom, and there is a song that says none of us are free" this line contradicts itself but it is very relevant to today's society, meaning that in life we contradict ourselves a lot
Tyler Crane
ReplyDelete8/1/17
I liked the quote "Don't you lie about who you are sometimes and then realize
the lie is true?" from What It Look Like. I feel like the more I think about this quote, the more I relate to it. I feel like Hayes is saying that sometimes people underestimate themselves but when in reality they can be the person they want to be and do the things they want to do.
"I, for one, don`t trust the police because they go around looking" comes from How to Be Drawn To Trouble and is another quote I found interesting. It made me think about all the problems that US is having with police brutality. However, id like to know more about how this quote relates to Terrance Haye`s life.
Carolyn Collins
ReplyDeleteAugust 1, 2017
“Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities of the soul.” I find this quote interesting because it is insightful to the reader and has a meaningful message. When someone is struggling or going through a really tough time in their life, it enlightens them to aspects of themselves they did not even realize and can make them stronger.
"A bandanna is a useful handkerchief, but a handkerchief is a useless-ass bandanna." I like this quote because it explains that although one item can do multiple functions, it shouldn’t be expected that the opposite item can reciprocate the same functions.
Isabeau Cordes
ReplyDeleteAugust 1, 2017
1. "Never mistake what it is for what it looks like."
This quote appealed to me in the sense that it questions the ideas appearances versus reality, and how you cannot just take things for face value. It is sort of just a rewording of the cliche "don't judge a book by its cover" but the message is so applicable to everyday life and interactions.
2. "PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT paranoia is a form of intuition it carries a flashlight and never sits with its back to an exit"
I really liked the way this explained the thought process and seemed to give explanation to the feeling of paranoia. Paranoia personified is not irrational like people usually think of it, but it is in a mode of survival, it is cautious and prepared for anything. I think paranoia is normally thought of as bad emotion, but here it is explained and rationalized, as a way of surviving in this particular world.
Anthony Duarte
ReplyDeleteAugust 1, 2017
“You must look without looking to make the perfect circle. The line, the mind must be a blind continuous liquid until the drawing is complete.” This quote interested me because I thought of it as how throughout your entire life everything you do is somehow connected.
“Not even two eyes in the same head see the same things. I try never to confuse plain facts with plain truths. But if you were a camera, your parts would be held together by industry and idealism…” I chose this quote because I found it interesting how a group of people can all see the same thing and they will each have a different interpretation of it.
"What can you run from that does not inevitably find you that you do not inevitably return to that does not inevitably run from you"
ReplyDeleteI found this quote interesting because it reminded me of the saying "what's done in the dark comes to the light" eventually you will get caught or return.
"I wish I were as tolerant as walt Whitman waltzing across the battlefield like a song covering a cry of distress but I want to be a storm"
I found this quote interesting because of the contradictory. She wants to be graceful yet she also wants to be a storm.
8/1/17
ReplyDeleteParker Mealey
"I care less and less about the shapes of shapes because forms change and nothing is more durable than feeling."
This quote stood out to me because it could have many different interpretations. In my opinion, I think Hayes is saying that the only thing that truly matters is how you feel, because concrete things always change.
"And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, “Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music.”"
This passage caught my eye because I'm a fan of music, and as far as I understand, Terrance Hayes is too. Im not exactly sure what the quote means, but 'never mind, we are ugly but we have the music' stood out to me.
Alexandra Liggett 8/1/2017
ReplyDelete"Hello, sliding chairs. Hello, vicious whispering shadows.
I'm a reasonable man, but I want to be as inexplicable as something hanging a dozen feet in the air." This quote caught my attention and is interesting to me because the way he flows words in just these 3 sentences is very clever and not something I have seen in literature before.
"What I do is the burner. An aerodynamic aeronautical system of the letter flying on a rolling page in a wind tunnel known as the transit system. And that's all that happens. A letter moves backwards with its own wings, it gained the wheels off the bottom of the train. And the page became a car with a year number on it. And the gallery was rollin'." Once again, Terrance Hayes uses his sesquipedalian words and phrases to create a passage that catches my eye. It is also interesting to me because he incorporates the intense vocabulary while also adding in an informal word like "rollin'".
the first quote I found interesting is this, '' lets praise everything that spurs the spirit of creativity''. this quote interest me and I believe that it has a beautiful and true meaning. I believe creativity is one of the most important things in our society because without creativity there is no innovation.
ReplyDeletethe second quote that I found to be interesting is this, '' I will have a son named high jinx, and a son named 44, and a son named Mary''. this quote intrigued me and confused me, what was meant by these strange names and why are they used.
Julia Weisberg
ReplyDelete8/1/17
"Never mistake what it is for what it looks like."
I liked this quote because it really stood out to me when I was reading. It really made a statement and I think it has a nice message.
“Trouble is one of the ways we discover the complexities Of the soul.”
I also though this quote was really interesting. It stood out just like the last one but this one makes you think about your own life.