On "A Blues Book..." - My Personal Take

When contemplating what Sanchez poem to use as an excerpt, I decided to use piece of "A Blues Book for Blue Black Magical Women", which is also printed in the Norton Anthology. Because she is notorious for writing verse combining the Black and female identity, this poem is a great representation of her work. I learned that Sanchez, who is one of my favorite writers, converted to the Nation of Islam in 1971, otherwise known as the Black Muslims. It was a faith where she took pleasure in the spiritual aspects, but stayed uncomfortable because of the Nation's firm belief on "women should know their place" and it was very repressive. The first lines draw me in:

there is no place
for a soft/black/woman.
there is no smile green enough or
summertime words warm enough to allow my growth.

Although it is not stated that this poem was written during her affiliation with the Nation, this is what it made me think of. Sanchez describes a typical feeling in a unique poetic way, the limitations and boundaries that a Black woman has in the world because her being labeled in minorities. She is known as a poet who speaks to the soul of Black women and advocates that this social overprotection causes them to be stagnant in life, when they should be flourishing like gardens like any other human. This piece is an amazing portrait to put on the pedestal of her work because she has had many experiences with these identities in positive and negative ways, and many people can resonate with these words personally, as well as artistically.