4/21/2020 Entry

I mentioned during one of the zoom calls a few weeks ago that we had moved to my partner's parents' home in Western Massachusetts. In part, to escape the coronavirus in NYC but also to move to a space with more room so that the three of us wouldn't be at our throats in our 1.5 bedroom apartment. We considered a few things before getting here that was anxiety-inducing. We were worried that we would be stopped at the Massachusetts border by police or national guard because of our New York state plates. In actuality, the car that I rented from Hertz had Mass plates, a fact that we didn't realize upon returning the vehicle. We also worried that when we got to the house that the neighbors wouldn't be friendly and would consider us to be carriers of the virus into their delightful little cul-de-sac. Though this a refuge for me, I miss being able to go to my local bar and wax on about philosophy and going on strolls through the park. I also feel guilty of being able to escape as a black man as people of color are disproportionately affected by the virus.

The fear and hope that I'm researching coincide with the sense of optimism, but through this poem, I feel I've expressed mostly the pessimism that consumed me. A real concern of how long the plateau will last. Will our lack of social systems create the unrest that we are witnessing in the states that our President on twitter called on to liberate themselves? The title refers to the period of peak admittances to NYC hospitals that we needed to get past. 

Fortnite

We escaped to the land of hills and valleys

Hoping we are not traveling Typhoid Mark and Marys

Gawked like a hawk from our windows at

The Neighbors

Not nearly belabored by our thoughts that stalked

Our memories of

Bar banter between

Sweet saunters between swings at the park

In the meantime hoping the curve is streamlined

And that in a fortnight the urban sprawl 

Doesn’t resemble Fortnite. 

4/17/2020

I tried to do the PowerPoint first, but I found it difficult to continue after a few slices, and everything looked messy. So I decided to change my mind. I write Professor Chang's research report. I decided to finish the research report first and then find ideas from the research report to write PowerPoint. But all of these have encountered difficulties. I don't know why. All my Professors started to send homework. I have lots of online classes, and I need to write other homework. But I am a person who can't manage time well, so I am still experimenting with ways to make me focus on my work. My theme for the role that Mermaid's play in the cultural imagination of China, or Japan, or the Euro-American world almost the same. In  China, Euro-American, and Japan, Mermaid is legend, myth, who accompany with mysterious, beautiful, slaughter, and love. In ancient times, Mermaid in China, Euro-American, and Japan is living things use her/his voice to lure the man and kill them. In the other side, human aways seeks to them because Mermaid's beautiful, because of their power. And right now, there were some news or information that report human already found some Mermaid, thought all those reporting, the final ending of Mermaid is sent to the lab doing the research.Moreover, like Disney, or other films, television,  Mermaid is a hook of Capitalism to earn money. And due to all the research I have done, I discover, all the characters are female. Even in the film or other places, the Mermaid is female. Whatever in ancient times or modern times, the Mermaid was used their beauty to lure the people, just like people give the woman a value by their beauty.

The Process of This Week

Now, I have started making the PowerPoint. At the same time, I am also writing the research report that requires by Professor Chang. Then I read several Chinese ancient articles about mermaids. Furthermore, I read Western articles about mermaids too. When I was doing the resource search, some pieces that I find are news reports, the authenticity of those reports remains to be verified. Secondly, I also used One Search in our school library system to find the information and try sorted those resources out. In the mermaid materials of Western literature, progress is relatively fast. In Chinese mermaid literature, I was getting stuck on it. Because the way of writing of ancient Chinese books is different from the current writing methods, they are stuck on the issue of translation to a certain extent. One of the old articles was written in the early Qin period, and it is difficult to translate its meaning. But after I finished talking with Professor Chang this morning, and I have already found my way. Moreover, after I finish watch Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo, I explore that Mermaid is one kind of remarkable Legend, myth, and symbol for Japan. This week, I will concern about the comparison between western and eastern literature about Mermaid.

In the last week, I have been in the process of translating the work I had already completed into the new discussed product of my research and doing the necessary additional research to compensate for the change in direction. It's been tough to adapt to the changes. Not only the changes of my project but the new dynamic of having work, school and family life be all on the same stage and often happening all at the same time. However, I'm finding what works and what does not. I'm hoping I find a groove before it begins to make an impact.
This week I took a focus on the origins of Afro-Brazilian Poetry, this art form is closely linked to history and culture. I've been diving into work in order to connect the cosmology of divine poetry, the historical context and the cultural diaspora that needs to be considered. In order to do this I've read many articles but have really found this particular article helpful: Steven F. White's "Reinventing a Sacred Past in Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Poetry." White's work has elements of the divine, history and culture.
Since Professor Byam would like out blog post project to move through element by element I've decided that my first piece will be of the genesis of poetry in Brazil and it's meaning for the enslaved Africans. Much like the spirituals of the south, the poetry allowed for knowledge and spirituality the slave masters could not control. Interestingly, Brazilian's isolation of Africans allowed for the out pour of melancholia to remain distinctly African compared to North American black art of that era.  I think its incredibly meaningful and important, so I'll be starting there and fleshing out some of the work I've already written.