Elizabeth Alexander Research
AP English 12
Mrs. Smithson
April 6, 2014
Poet’s History
Elizabeth Alexander was born in Harlem, New York in 1962, but grew up in Washington,
D.C. and like her family pursued a post-secondary education in a prestige’s college. She received
a Bachelors from Yale University, a Masters from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in English
from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Clifford Alexander, a former United
States Secretary of the Army and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chairmen. Her
mother, Adele (Logan) Alexander is a teacher of African-American women's history at George
Washington University and a writer as well. Elizabeth’s family has always been very involved in
politics as long as she can remember. Her brother Marc C. Alexander follows the same follows
the same footsteps by being a former senior adviser to the Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Elizabeth was a toddler when her parents took her to the March on Washington for the famous “I
Have a Dream” speech. (Alexander)
Alexander went from being an unknown poet to being widely known for composing and
delivering the poem, “Praise Song for the Day” for the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
In addition, Alexander has published five books of poem. Some of her most notable recognitions
include being one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for American Sublime and was also one
of the American Library Association’s “Notable Books of the Year,” along with many other
awards. She also wrote a verse play, “Diva Studies,” which premiered at the Yale School of
Drama. Dr. Alexander has contributed to our society in many ways, which includes contributions
to improving race relations in American society and was therefore the first recipient of the
Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship. She is passionate about furthering the broad social goals
established by the famous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Elizabeth is
also currently “chair of the African American Studies Department at Yale University” (E.
Poets.org). Alexander was also past of the funding editorial collective for the feminist journal
Meridians. Today, Elizabeth Alexander is a highly successful poet, essayist, playwright, and
teacher. Her success as a poet is not only due to her poems, but also the contributions to the
modern society.
Poet’s Style
Elizabeth’s common style reoccurring through most of her poetry, if not all is free verse.
Her poems have no set rhythm or meter because she focuses more on the message she is trying to
get across the reader, instead of making each line ten syllables or a fourteen line sonnet.
Throughout many of the poems I read, Elizabeth repeatedly uses some of the same literary
devices in a lot of her poems. For example, free verse, alliteration, and metaphors are common
literary devices that can be identified in almost all her poems. Alexander also uses other literary
devices like allusion once in a while, but she is not the typical poet having end rhymes or
specifically structured poems like a sonnet. Elizabeth’s poems are different in the way her poems
flow. The words, sounds, images, feelings, and ideas conveyed are what make her poetry one of
a kind and allow for the reader to understand the purpose of her poetry.
Overview of Poet’s Work
Alexander has a numerous amount of different poems. “She has published five books of
poems: The Venus Hottentot (1990), Body of Life (1996), Antebellum Dream Book (2001),
American Sublime (2005), Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color
(2008 Connecticut Book Award). Her two collections of essays are The Black Interior (2004)
and Power and Possibility (2007).” (Alexander)
In “Ars Poetica #100: I Believe,” Alexander conveys through her diction and imagery the
meaning of poetry. The meaning of the poem is about the beauty of poetry and poetry is what we
make out of it because it is everywhere. Elizabeth wants us to look around and find the beauty of
poetry as she sees it. Through the use of parentheses, Alexander is able to enforce motives and
add the emotions she feels. The poem uses an allusion to Sterling Brown, which relates to
Alexander because both write above racial disunity.
“Nineteen,” was an interesting poem because it was unusual compared to Elizabeth’s
other poems. This poem was more prose, which is uncommon for Elizabeth after reading other
poetry from her. Although it was a little unusual, it still connected her poetry because it had the
same purpose. “Nineteen” is a coming of age poem, which talks about one summer. Through her
journey, she matured and learned from her mistakes. She let a guy make a fool of her because
she was blind with the “love” she felt for him. Elizabeth is not only talking to the teenage girls,
but also to those men who serve in the country and live scarring experiences. The man in the
poem is representing those men who use women to numb and forget about those terrible
experiences. Through the images and emotions held with every word, Elizabeth is trying to
prevent stories like these happening. Any reader can relate because everybody is young at one
point and wants to use their new freedom to the limit.
The last poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” is the poem written by Elizabeth for the
inauguration of President Barack Obama. Elizabeth represents the black American culture and
therefore is a great fit for writing and reading the poem in of inauguration. This poem celebrates
the moment and wants her listeners to see what she sees. Elizabeth is trying to convey what this
moment in time means and why it is so significant in our history. “Picked the Cotton” is an
allusion because it is much more than just a person in any field picking cotton. It alludes to
history in our nation of racial discrimination. The perfect world is that in which people chose
who to be and are not told who they are or should be by the color of their skin or gender.
Through recalling past and everyday experiences, Alexander is able to effectively communicate
why this moment is going to make history and will be memorable to the end of days.
Alexander’s poems can all be closely related when thinking about the deeper meaning
Elizabeth is trying to convey to the reader. Elizabeth is a person that wants to make a difference
through every possible opportunity she has. She fights for equal rights for every race and gender
and tries to enforce the broad decision made in Brown v. Board of Education. Most of
Elizabeth’s poems have very few literary devices employed because she writes her poems as
though she is directly speaking to the reader instead of coming up with rides and common poem
forms. Alexander’s poems are fairly easy to read and understand due to the simple diction. There
are words that are difficult to know without a dictionary, but after looking up the word, it all
comes together. Through her poems, Elizabeth is able to talk about real life situations or
experiences and have her audience relate to her poetry. By talking about life experiences,
Alexander is able to make her audience realize how imperfect the world is and how much room
there is for improvement. Therefore, all of Elizabeth’s poems can be dealing with a different
subject, but they all come together in the end to educate or make the reader realize the
improvement needed in today’s society.
www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237926
www.questionhub.com/YahooAnswers/20090917143040
www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20545
Common Themes
As mentioned in the overview of Elizabeth’s work, most of her work has purpose of
relating to a real life experience and educating the reader. Elizabeth has lived through racial
discrimination and heard her parent’s story of life back when her parents were teenagers. Having
racial discrimination in her background inspires the content of her poetry. Alexander’s poems are
unique in the way that they are relatable to any kind of person. Loving who one is and the person
they are is a common theme. I believe one of Alexander’s goals is to have her audience content
with who they are as a person and not let others influence the way one thinks about themselves.
Being aware of the society we live in today and all the dangerous that surround is another
reoccurred theme found in Elizabeth’s poems. Furthermore, Elizabeth’s poems primarily deal
with real life situations that are relatable to anyone in order to help or educate the audience.
Alexander wants the world to see the world as she sees it and appreciate everything in life
without letting others step all over one’s confidence.
Conclusions of Literary Merit
Elizabeth is smart and deeply educated in the traditions of poetry. One of her poetry
books has been recognized with literary merit, but has not yet been recognized nationally. After
reading many of Alexander’s poems, I believe she is deserving of literary merit. Although the
diction employed in her poetry is easy to understand, the meaning of each poem requires thought
by the reader in order to identify the purpose of the poem. The fact that Elizabeth remains true to
her roots allows for her poetry to project the emotion and feelings Elizabeth feels like the poem
“Ladders.” Alexander’s poems need to be analyzed and the impact of each literary device needs
to be identified in order for complete understanding of the poem, just like other poems of literary
merit. Therefore, Elizabeth Alexander has successfully portrayed her experiences as a black
women, but also made her poetry relevant to every reader no matter their color through various
literary devices.
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Bibliography
Alexander, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Alexander." Elizabeth Alexander | Poems. 2005. Web. 06 Apr.
2014.
"Clifford L. Alexander, Jr." Clifford L. Alexander, Jr.: Visionary Videos: NVLP: African
American History. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.
"Elizabeth Alexander." Alexander. Yale University, 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Elizabeth Alexander (poet)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 June 2014. Web. 01 Apr.
2014.
"Elizabeth Alexander." The Poetry Center at Smith College. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
"Elizabeth Alexander." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Elizabeth Alexander." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
"Faculty (2009)." Napa Valley Writers' Conference. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Faculty." Cave Canem. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
"The Paris Review." Paris Review. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Poet Chosen for Inauguration Is Aiming for a Work That Transcends the Moment." NY Times.
The New York Times, 20 Dec. 2008. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.