Cassandra and Monique Frozen Breath and Knife Blades
-
Upload
cynthiabettio -
Category
Documents
-
view
20 -
download
2
Transcript of Cassandra and Monique Frozen Breath and Knife Blades
frozen breath and knife bladesKateri Akiwenzie-Damm
Monique and Cassandra
Is Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm anishinaabe?
Did Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm go to residential school?
Is Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm still alive?
Is writing poetry the only career Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm has?
Was Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm raised on a reserve?
• She uses the people in her life that surround her as inspiration to write her poems
• Writing poetry is a spiritual experience for her. It helps her connect with the world around her
• Lots of her writing is passionate about indigenous peoples all over the world
frozen breath and knife blades
the village is asleep
there are strangers living with usthere are strangers drifting in and out of the dull edges of my sight
and the village is asleep
there is a man who stares and calls me sisteras if he was born to do so
he walks among us and the people fall silent around him it’s as if they cant remember their names in the face of his
strange wordshis eyes are knife blades
and i cant tell if it is love or hate he carves into mebut i know he is cutting through us
this man we call Father is watchingI feel his eyes cutting into me
and the village is asleep
the man he brought with himis like the frozen breath of his words
sometimes i glimpse himbut he vanishes
like a strange spiritwho has wandered far from home
the village is still sleeping
and i wonder who will be tangles in the webof my dreaming
when i wake
Frozen breath and knife blades is about someone who is going through the experience of a residential school and being influenced by many factors of the catholic religion.
• Contemporary poem• Free verse poem
the village is asleep
there are strangers living with us
there are strangers drifting in and out of the dull edges of my sight
and the village is asleep
there is a man who stares and calls me sister
as if he was born to do so
he walks among us and the people fall silent around him
it’s as if they cant remember their names in the face of his
Anaphora- repeating the same phrase throughout the poem
Repetition
• Enjambment- run on lines• Imagery- creates a picture
Apostrophe- addressing an absent person as if he or she were present
strange words
his eyes are knife blades
and i cant tell if it is love or hate he carves into me
but i know he is cutting through us
this man we call Father is watching to emphasize the main
theme and centre of the poem
I feel his eyes cutting into me
• Enjambent• Prolepses- anticipation• Tone- poets attitude towards the
poems subject• imagery
Repetition
and the village is asleep
the man he brought with him
is like the frozen breath of his words
sometimes i glimpse him
but he vanishes
like a strange spirit
who has wandered far from home
• Enjambent• Tone
the village is still sleeping
and i wonder who will be tangled in the web
of my dreaming
when i wake
atmosphere
1. Why does Kateri decide not to use punctuation?
2. Why did Kateri choose to only capitalize the words "Father" and "I"?
3. Why is the poem formatted like the way it is?
4. Why is anaphora used in this poem?
5. Why does Kateri use Apostrophes?