{"id":276,"date":"2018-10-08T20:07:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T20:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=276"},"modified":"2018-10-18T15:16:36","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T15:16:36","slug":"elvis-alves-poetry-race-spirituality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2018\/10\/08\/elvis-alves-poetry-race-spirituality\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetic Justice: Elvis Alves \u201902 on poetry, race, and spirituality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elvis Alves \u201902 was in the sticky, claustrophobic heat of the Mississippi Delta\u2009\u2014\u2009a place center to the blues and race consciousness\u2009\u2014\u2009on a service learning trip in the spring of 2017. While there, he wrote poems about the music and people\u2019s stories. <\/span><\/p>\n

He also thought about the bluesman Lead Belly, who was <\/span>incarcerated at Parchman Prison. <\/span>Pressing pen to paper, Alves <\/span>wrote about the notorious prison:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Built to last, hold bodies as a hole that runs\u00a0<\/i><\/span>to infinity and back. Black gold never sold.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Time was never enough until time stops in here and you<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

are surrounded by selves without direction to go beyond<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

a state of degeneration. Authorized penetration of body, mind,\u00a0<\/i><\/span>and soul. Nothing has ever been good to\u00a0<\/i>the person\u00a0<\/i><\/span>behind your doors.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBeing in that region of the South, knowing its history, and interacting with people prompted poems that I think are powerful,\u201d he says. \u201cI write with the intent of giving a voice to the oppressed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This poem, which he titled after the prison, is one of 59 that appear in Alves\u2019s third book, I am no battlefield but a forest of trees growing<\/i>. The Pushcart Prize\u2013nominated poet, teacher, and Princeton Theological Seminary graduate worked on his manuscript for approximately three years before it was published in 2018 by Franciscan University Press\u2009\u2014\u2009his prize for winning the Jacopone da Todi Poetry Prize. Alves reveals more about his work:<\/span><\/p>\n

I am no battlefield but a forest of trees growing<\/i> has to do with the black body being objectified, whether that\u2019s through media or intimate relationships.<\/b> It\u2019s saying that the black body should be respected like any other body\u2009\u2014\u2009and not, for example, gunned down or abused. I\u2019m being critical of police brutality, state-sanctioned violence against black and brown bodies, so it\u2019s a heavy title. Also, when I started this manuscript, I\u2019d just come out of a serious relationship. It was hard for me to write because of the emotional toll that took. One of the first things I wrote was: I am no battlefield but a forest of trees growing. It was to remind myself that things will get better, that I am still a whole person even though I\u2019m going through this bad breakup.<\/p>\n

Race plays a role in my poetry because I navigate the world as a black man.<\/b> Writing provides an avenue for me to put my feelings and thoughts on a canvas. <\/span><\/p>\n

Some people have the idea that poetry by nature is inaccessible. <\/b>I like to counter that claim by making my poems accessible, and I do that by adopting a more narrative style. <\/span><\/p>\n

My poetry is influenced by literature, so there are a lot of prose. I want people to think deeply about what I write, so not everything is plainly laid out, but still approachable.<\/p>\n

My spirituality informs how I live. <\/b>Going to seminary and having theological training has allowed me to be present in the lives of individuals, including students. I believe that the more human you are, the more spiritual you are.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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