Christal Rice Cooper: Gone Sane

Christal Rice Cooper is the new blooming bud in the domain of American literature. She has done Masters degree in creative writing focused on poetry at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville. She is a freelance writer and editor of the Asian American Times.

The poetry volume has been divided into such sections as The Celebrity, The Historical , The Literary, The Wolves, The Domestic and The Lambs.

The opening part has such poems as Carrey Mad, Sacred, A Fiction of the rose Joshua Tree and Steel Eggs. All these poems shows her inner urge to live with nature. She keep on remembering the nature like William Wordsworth's 'The Daffodils'. She has related these poems with Biblical myths.

I gave her the first rose
When she told how
She never knew her father
But dreamed Clark was her daddy - A Fiction of the Rose [p.7]

The historical part has such poems as Return of the Men, Fingers, Catching the Buffalo, Lady Diana , Chorographer, The parting of Camelot, Like Moses, I am Enola`s Gray Baby. These poems present her different taste and touch. She takes different themes in each poem bubbled with rich imagery and symbolism. The newness of this volume is that the poetess mingles some quotations with the poem and it looks as one.

You lived like a blade
Of grass
Jewels were your sun
Your water sweet
As Eve's navel
Orange, nourished
On Mother Nature's green. [ Lady Diana p.27]

The literary section contains Words become flesh, Clay Boy's Pappy's Idea of Heaven, The Share Cropper, Response to Lucille Clifton`s Signs, Tom Joad Speaks Monologues of the Ladies of Steepletop, Scarlet Dirt, The Horse. This section contains autobiographical touch of poems.

A world where birds walk
And person fly
The sky is the ground
The ground the sky
The earth the sea
The sea the earth. [Response to Lucile Clifton`s Signs p.77]

In the next section 'The Wolf' there are poems on war, patriotism and race war.

Black baby
No turning back
Drink tonight
For we are under attack. [Black Baby p.109]

The next section 'The domestic' contains poems on women. The poetess has raised such issues as domestic violence and expressed her strong desire for strong feminism.

When I lay in bed
He permeats
The corners of my body
Blocks me
From everything
But him. [ Prey p.127]

The last section of this poetry volume is titled 'The Lambs' and this section starts with note of sadness descrining the massacres of the native Americans and Jews and ends with human beauty.

I want to be frozen
Not his inebriated angel
He was , is, will be
I AM THE GREAT I AM [Beautiful Boy p.187]

Although this poetry volume is Chris Cooper`s first poetry volume but from nowhere it seems first. She presents such jugglery of words to make all these pearls of poems . His symbolism is unique and it becomes more unique when mixed with thoughts of great personalities with great graphics. I think Cooper is successful her ardent efforts to lure the readers with her craftsmanship.

22-Oct-2012

More by : Prof. Dr. Ram Sharma

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