I am this space my body believes in.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the connection between identity and physical existence, suggesting that our sense of self is deeply tied to our bodies and the spaces we inhabit.
Yusef Komunyakaa's quote 'I am this space my body believes in' encapsulates the idea that our physical presence and the environment around us shape our identity. It suggests that the body not only experiences space but also constructs a sense of self that is influenced by the spaces we occupy, both literally and metaphorically. This relationship emphasizes the profound impact of our surroundings on our personal and collective consciousness.
In practice
In a discussion about personal identity at a philosophy seminar.
Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape.
It wasn't a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction.
We have to embrace the good over the bad. That has to be one's personal project.
I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that's the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human.
Every man has his moral backside which he refrains from showing unless he has to and keeps covered as long as possible with the trousers of decorum.
Now imagine a world in which everyone, but especially people with power and influence, holds an expanded view of our place in the cosmos. With that perspective, our problems would shrink-or never arise at all-and we could celebrate our earthly differences while shunning the behavior of our predecessors who slaughtered each other because of them.
There is nothing by which men display their character so much as in what they consider ridiculous... Fools and sensible men are equally innocuous. It is in the half fools and the half wise that the great danger lies.
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.
I am an atheist, thanks be to God.
How quickly do we grow accustomed to wonders. I am reminded of the Isaac Asimov story Nightfall, about the planet where the stars were visible only once in a thousand years. So awesome was the sight that it drove men mad. We who can see the stars every night glance up casually at the cosmos and then quickly down again, searching for a Dairy Queen.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.