Poetry for Students Vol. 10

8 Poetry for Students

ding in Negro Digestas “a natural poet.” Redding

also observed that “for all her metrical skill, her

phrasing was weak” and that she used “shopworn

images and vague ‘poetic’ terms like ‘dreams.’” In

stating such criticism, it was his hope that Madgett

would soon develop a “more rigorous diction”

to complement her “intelligence and prosodic

ability.”

Criticism

Judi Ketteler

Judi Ketteler has taught Literature and Eng-

lish Composition and is currently a freelance writer

based in Cincinnati, Ohio. In this essay, Ketteler

discusses the way in which Madgett uses language

to make a political statement about racism and in-

justice in this country.

In “Alabama Centennial,” Madgett creates a

political poem through her elevated language and

carefully chosen images and metaphors regarding

the black experience in America. Madgett also

takes special care to highlight shifting voices in the

poem, illustrating the power struggle between the

white establishment and African-American ac-

tivism in the 1950s and 1960s. “Alabama Centen-

nial,” is a testimony to the brutal century of racism

and indignity suffered by black Americans. But

Madgett moves beyond painting her people as vic-

tims; instead, she chooses images of strength in

speaking about the Civil Rights Movement, under-

scoring the ways in which she and her fellow black

Americans have fought, and in fact, have tri-

umphed.

It is worth noting that Madgett wrote “Al-

abama Centennial,” in 1965, in the midst of a

decade filled with large scale civil rights protests.

A very versatile poet, Madgett has also written a

great deal of lyric and romantic poetry, using im-

ages from nature to address such topics as love,

death, and spirituality. “Alabama Centennial” is

part of the collection Star by Star,which contains

both types of poems. Madgett has a deep appreci-

ation for language, whether she is using it to raise

her voice in political protest, or to celebrate the

beauty of morning dew on a rose.

In “Alabama Centennial,” Madgett uses lan-

guage in a very personal way. She begins by situ-

ating a voice outside of herself with the opening

stanza, “They said,”; this is then contrasted with “I

waited.” This juxtaposition of voice and perspec-

Alabama Centennial

U. S. Federal Troops surround African American students as they enter Little Rock Central High

School during the first days of integration.