Double Elegy (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Michael S. Harper
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry, Elegy
- Subjects: Suffering, Poetry or poets, Death or dying, Identity, Bereavement or grief
“Double Elegy” conflates the lives of two poets whom Michael S. Harper includes in his rendering of artistic kinship by linking them across geographical and racial boundaries. Both Hayden (black) and Wright (white) are characterized as emblems of personal persistence and poetic accomplishment, each struggling to overcome social, economic, cultural, and racial challenges in the pursuit of his artistic passions.
In stanza 1, Harper shows Hayden and Wright traveling on different paths, “city or country roads,” but sharing the experiences of uphill struggles: “the dark...
[The entire page is 578 words long]
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