Father, Son, & Basketball

Father and Son – Basketball Days
Bulls vs. Suns, 1993

“Bulls vs. Suns, 1993” by José Olivarez “Father and Son – Basketball Days” by Ashvin Harrison

The poem Bulls vs. Suns, 1993 by José Olivarez and the painting Father and Son – Basketball Days by Ashvin Harrison complement each other well as they both encompass themes of companionship and love between father and son through the game of basketball. Olivarez begins the poem by describing the immense fascination and fun he had while watching the NBA finals with his father, while also describing the love he felt from his father when he was celebrating. Similar sentiments can be pulled from the painting, as we can see that the father and son are holding hands and presumably walking to play basketball with each other. We can imply that the father is showing the same affection and love towards his son because he is taking time out of his day to spend time with his boy and play basketball with him. The author’s use of warm and bright colored leaves on the tree, presumably representing autumn where the leaves change color, also adds to the effect of comfort and love that is expressed between the father and son illustrated in this painting. A few lines later in the poem, Olivarez writes, “love was your fists closed and not fighting for once, your fists fireworks above your head.” He includes this sentiment in the poem to show how in the past his father had been fighting or violent, and it was nice and pleasing to see him with his fists balled up, but not for anger or for fighting, but rather in exclamation and happiness for watching the game of basketball. Harrison potentially illustrates this concept through the physical body manner and representation of the father in the painting. We can see that he is dressed in a long sleeve shirt and pants, suggesting that he might have just gotten off work or was supposed to be dressed nicely for some reason. We can also read the body language of the man, and can observe that he seems a little tense and possibly upset, potentially having to do with work or the other stressors in life. This can connect to how Olivarez’s father felt, as stress and anger can be complimentary feelings. We can also connect their responses to these emotions, as the joy and cheer that Olivarez’s father was showing at the basketball game can be compared to the gracious and loving gesture that the boy’s father is showing by taking him out to play basketball in the painting, regardless of how they have felt or been feeling. Finally, the last part of Olivarez’s poem expresses the longing and desire that he had as a kid for being recognized and getting the approval of his father. He writes that “my heart running suicides to be in your heart’s hall of fame” in order to show how he desires to earn a lasting place in his father love and memory. We can infer that the painting includes a similar message and feeling as to what Olivarez felt, because most kids seek approval and love from their parents, and this tends to be especially prevalent between father and son. The son was probably longing to play basketball with his father, and it seems like his father has made time to play basketball with his son outside, which has made him feel better and loved by his father. (Word Count: 556)

Three Poems by José Olivarez

“Mexican Heaven”

https://unsplash.com/photos/a-small-plant-sprouting-out-of-the-crack-in-the-ground-onux3Bgx-7A

Mexican Heaven is easier to understand than some other works written by Olivarez, as it sways away from metaphorically-deep and complex diction, and rather uses direct language and imagery to enable as much reader comprehension as possible. Olivarez dives into dispelling notions of the purity of man, the promise of religion, and man’s goal to reach heaven. Olivarez includes sentiments about mankind and god like, “we are death machines building death machines,” and “only to find god torturing dolls,” which directly combat some individual’s view on people and god. These statements help the reader understand that Olivarez’s perspective mankind is greedy and heaven is not the perfect place that some imagine it to be, but rather it is a reflection of human desire for material wealth and greed instead of purity and honesty.

https://poets.org/poem/mexican-heaven

“Down to My Elbows (ending on a line by Shakespeare)”

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/developmental-milestones-for-doing-the-dishes

Down to My Elbows is a slightly more complex work, still directly introducing the concept of love and its connection to everyday tasks, whether glamorous or not, but at the same time the syntax becomes more complicated through line breaks, and the concept of washing dishes isn’t necessarily stated by the poet. When Olivarez includes, “so this is love,” the reader is able to understand his intention with the poem, connecting everyday and somewhat gross tasks like cleaning the dirty dishes to the idea that these reflect the nature of love, that love is centered on perception and is meaningful based on how one interprets and experiences it. The more cryptic connections come when the poet writes, “clogged with gray water … wet rice soggy cornflakes,” and this doesn’t necessarily make sense on the first read, but I inferred that it was talking about the nature of cleaning dishes, which can be interpreted in different ways by people, and this is the connection between love and these everyday tasks that Olivarez is hinting the reader to.

https://poets.org/poem/down-my-elbows-ending-line-shakespeare

“now i’m bologna”

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/car-mechanic-in-auto-repair-shop-gm539483456-96208721

now i’m bologna is the most complex of the three chosen, as sophisticated extended metaphors are used throughout the poem, shifting through many themes and concepts in life and Mexican heritage that make the poem confusing to understand. Olivarez begins by comparing his parents’ experiences to that of a car saying, “my parents were born from a car. they climbed out … & kissed the car on its cheek,” signifying their appreciation for the life they had lived, but later added complexity by including, “it’s not so bad being a person. the front seat of a car … is more comfortable than the trunk,” which doesn’t make much sense to me, and I don’t see the significance of this line in the work as a whole. The message of the car metaphor carries through, but certain extensions of this metaphor blur the big picture for me. Additionally, Olivarez writes, “if i put my parents’ names on papers, what happens? the answer is no comment.” which may be talking about trying to get citizenship and come into the country, but I don’t quite understand what it is really trying to get at. Overall, this is the more complex work out of the few, and includes the most figurative language and deep metaphors which make it difficult to understand.

https://poets.org/poem/now-im-bologna

Furthering my Understanding

José Olivarez grew up as the son of parents who immigrated from Mexico. He was grateful for his parents, and channeled his energy towards education and literature, earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. Olivarez has never lost sight of the past however, as he recounts experiences growing up, including his perception of Mexican culture and heritage, and what other people perceived of the culture as well. These three poems, covering concepts of religion, human perception, love, and family heritage are written from personal experiences and insights, and we can see the content of these poems is heavily influenced by his Mexican heritage and cultural background. By learning more about his background of having immigrant parents, and being one of the first in his family to earn a college degree, we can see how his personal circumstances have shaped the poems so woven in culture and heritage.

https://joseolivarez.com

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jose-olivarez

Word Count: 692

Tradition by José Olivarez

https://unsplash.com/photos/a-small-plant-sprouting-out-of-the-crack-in-the-ground-onux3Bgx-7A

I will begin my exploration into José Olivarez’s work with his poem “Tradition”, which dives deep into themes of cultural stereotypes, misconceptions, and oppression that the author and his people have experienced throughout his Hispanic lineage.

The first thing that stood out to me when reading the poem was the clear and powerful phrases that Olivarez uses to grab and inform the reader of the historical oppression that Mexicans have faced in the past. He includes the phrases “submerged under empire” and “dyed by blood & gun powder” to give the readers a picture of the conditions that the Mexicans were subject to. This is specifically important to the work as a whole because it is based on cultural identity and heritage, and a big aspect of those themes is stories and experiences being passed down through generations. By including this vivid narration Olivarez is effectively encompassing what it means to have a rich cultural heritage. Not only did this stand out to me but it is also the most clear and understandable information in the poem, as complex comparisons and relationships are presented by the author in an attempt to deepen the understanding of a strong cultural identity that is present and alive even though they were looked down upon and controlled in the past.

The very first few sentences of the poem seem the most troubling for me to understand. It begins by introducing stories about how Mexicans “grew” out of the dirt, and then says “we weren’t Mexicans back then”. This line confuses me because I don’t understand the idea of saying that they weren’t Mexicans. I think this isn’t very clear to understand because the poem dives deep into a lot of intricacies about Mexican culture and heritage, and adding these reflections about internal identity can be complex for the reader to navigate and interpret correctly. I think he may be saying that the Mexican people didn’t feel alive or feel like themselves in the past. Still, I’m not sure because he is talking about stories in the sentence before, and I don’t know if he is denouncing a false statement and judgment or if he is sharing his own view on the past. Although confusing to me, I believe that it does contribute to the theme throughout the poem of cultural identity and trying to embrace who you are individually and as a people.

I think lines 6 and 7 were originally hard to understand in this poem, because even though the meaning is important to the message of the poem, the individual comparisons between the Mexican people and different objects is slightly cryptic and complex. On the first read, sentences like “maybe we grew out of the dirt”, “maybe agave is our sibling”, and “maybe mountains our mother.” made no sense to me and the connection to themes of oppression and resilience against it didn’t make sense to me. After a little research, I found out that these sentences are good representations and act as symbols of Mexican culture. “Maybe we grew out of dirt” takes on a double meaning in this case, stating that the Mexican culture came up from being covered and oppressed (under the dirt), but also dirt can act as a symbol for the impact that crops and food has on the culture. Agave serves as an important source of food, beverage, and medicine in Mexican culture, so comparing it to being “our sibling” means they are closely connected with it. And the mountains that sprawl across Mexico are a defining feature that shapes and molds their way of life. These are things I have learned and picked up after spending more time with the poem.

Although I don’t have much in common with the author or the text for that matter, I can somewhat relate to the culture theme in the poem, being a young jewish man. There are always stereotypes floating around that have been pushed in the past, whether that has to do with having certain professions or certain body features, but in the end it is just about sticking up for your people and learning how to embrace your own identity. Although I would not consider myself heavily religious or influenced by Judaism, I have appreciated the culture and values that come with the religion and have made them a part of who I am, similar to what Olivarez describes in this poem.

(736 words)