Literature #10 DB
mimi12
WHENBLACKMENSTEETHSPEAKOUTLECTURE11.docx
When Black Men’s Teeth Speak Out
Ouologuem Yambo (Mali)
Pronounce: www.pronouncekiwi.com/Yambo%20Ouologuem
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yambo-Ouologuem
Just listen to the music of his voice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMMNJR_MG1o
A biography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RLK_UhVD0I
Yambo resembles both Cesaire and Senghor in the sense that he captures the essence of the negritude movement. Stylistically, he has been compared to Breton, whom we will read later.
He “made his mark” through his prize winning novel, Bound to Violence, which offers a devastating attack on Arab colonialism. Again, the theme returns. There is the antagonistic wave of colonialism and native integrity against each other.
The poem under discussion is irony and bitter humor which forces the reader to plays experience racial stereotypes. Remember the danger of the single story? At the end of the poem the author reveals a truth about Africa that cannot be denied.
· Exactly what are people thinking? And why do they reach these conclusions? Why do they assign them?
· Why Hurrah for tomatoes?
· Is there a sense of scape goat here?
· A tourist tours. There is no permanency. How does this contrast with a farmer who is vested in his land?
· Notice the color. Red is life. It is death. It is danger. Why is this integral to the poem?
· Proof is needed. Slice open his belly! Remember the story of Witchduck (and a road by the same name) in Virginia Beach? A woman (a widowed land owner) was accused of being a witch. So, possibly those who desired her property tied her to a chair and tied the chair to a long, sturdy log. Then they dunked her deeply into the water. They held her there. If she died from this, she was innocent. If she lived, she was guilty. In our true story, she lived. And, no, she was not a witch.
· Notice how the teeth speak? The teeth reside in the gums.
· There is an incredulity here. Some say humor.
· Do you see the danger of the single story?
Yambo is located in this course in the general area of Africa and the Middle East. Again, there is the antagonistic waves of colonialism and native integrity against each other.
