The Blackened Alphabet
While others sleep
My black skillet sizzles
Alphabets dance and I hit the return key
On my tired But ever jumping eyes
I want more I hold out for some more
While others just now turn over
shut down alarms
I am on I am on
I am pencilfrying
sweet Black alphabets
in an allnight oil
For this week’s C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call, participants are asked to post and discuss a poem by a woman of color. I’ve chosen to spend some time with “The Blackened Alphabet” from Finney’s 1995 collection, Rice. The book takes its name from the abundant staple crop that enslaved West Africans first cultivated in Finney’s home state of South Carolina. The food serves as a bridge between her African ancestry and black cultural traditions, particularly among women, in the American South.
I love the way the “The Blackened Alphabet” serves as a kind of opening declaration of Finney’s craft. Her “black skillet” is not just a frying pan, but her imagination or even the blank computer screen where “Alphabets dance.” As she works to reclaim her past and “hit the return key,” she envisions herself as a poet-teacher who will stir us from our mental “sleep” with her verse. Even when we hit the snooze button, she is still cooking and sounding the alarm: I am on I am on. (Love that line.)
Finney also loves wordplay, and while many of her poems are reflective and somber, she’s not afraid of humor. Her pun on the term “pencilfrying” in this poem makes me smile and reminds me of Black Arts poets like Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez (who also made upper/lowercase distinctions between black/Black). I wonder, too, if there isn’t something more erotic going on in this poem? All that sizzling and the dancing through the night….
In addition to publishing Rice and two other poetry collections, Finney is a short story writer and the editor of The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South.
Posted by susan on April 12, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Oh, I’m a grinning silly-wide. As soon as I saw her name, I was screaming! Am I a true nerd or what?! I have The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South and I swear this is the only time I will name drop here but I met both Eady and Dericotte prior to them forming Cave Canem (one huge benefit of attending a small, liberal college is meeting folks like these poets/academics and you the audience is small and the affair is intimate) and I am very proud to say I own a few of their earliest CC anthologies.
Oh, this really lifts me up and I need it because I’m ready to explode with a scathing critique of popular teen book and I’m trying hard to think how I’m going to write this and readers will actually hear me instead of dismissing me as being overly, unnecessarily critical.
Posted by Doret on April 12, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Every one is finding their poem but me. Though I do look forward to reading Susan’s scathing critique.
That old school skillet looks like it good fry up some good chicken
I love pencilfrying. I wonder how you test the hotness of your pencil?
Posted by Claudia on April 13, 2009 at 6:56 AM
True nerds, unite! Thanks for the great response, susan!!!! And Doret, you’ve still got a few more days: LOL @ the hotness of your pencil!
Posted by Zetta Elliott on April 13, 2009 at 7:19 AM
Nikky Finney is so amazing…she insists *I* am a poet, and has always been welcoming, encouraging…we brought her to Mt Holyoke and the students were floored by her genius, her humility, her “touch” when it comes to our difficult history…Smith College is very lucky to have her–great choice, Claudia!
Posted by Thinking Aloud on April 14, 2009 at 10:07 PM
I was not familiar with this poet, but your review made me want to grab this book and read her poems, and enter the kitchen and cook up some viddles.
Posted by Claudia on April 15, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Some viddles, ha! Thanks for stopping by, Zetta and Thinking Aloud.
Posted by William K. Wolfrum Chronicles » Blog Archive » No one expects a blogaround: Climbing the highest mountain edition on April 21, 2009 at 8:16 AM
[...] The Bottom of Heaven: Examining Nikky Finney’s “The Blackened Alphabet.” [...]
Posted by Debbie on November 27, 2009 at 12:48 AM
I took a couple of Nikky Finney’s creative writing classes, and let me say she is genius…great at what she does, but also in how she can bring out the best in a writer. U.K. wants their muse back!
Posted by Claudia on November 27, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Hi Debbie, thanks for stopping by! I’m such a fan of Finney’s work and I’m so glad to hear that she’s a terrific teacher too.
Posted by Evelyn N. Alfred on March 8, 2011 at 10:44 AM
I’m digging this poem. It makes me want to get the whole collection.