Reading Like a Writer: Blood Dazzler

Assignment for May 24th
From Patricia Smith's Blood Dazzler

Question: Find specific examples of abstract (ideas and concepts) and concrete (specific details, sensory, implications) language. What are the effects?

Through out the first half of Blood Dazzler, Patricia gives plenty of poems, which all related to one subject that is Katrina Hurricane. She is kind making daily experiences for Katrina with different aspects and examples of abstracts. Patricia Smith Blood Dazzler chronicles the human, physical and emotional toll exacted by Hurricane Katrina that has lasting spiritual and political impact.

Blood dazzler has some abstracts about the Hurricane Katrina. For example, in the Won’t Be But A Minute poem, she gives the concept of (fear) that New Orleans people had. Also, the idea and descriptions of the moment of horror, and how everyone just wants to get him or herself out of the disaster by leaving the dog tied to the cypress. That indicated when she says “You heard the man, he said go, and you know white folks don’t warn us ‘bout nothing unless they scared too.”

In addition, in Only Everything I Own poem, from its title it kind gives us the introduction and the implication at the same time of that poem. She talks in short sentences. Also, nearly every sentence ends with comma or Punctuation. This kind of tool she uses to make sensory language and emphasize her emotions about her house and beauty of it, and how it was everything in her life even the cobwebs.