Head Off And Split Poem Analysis

Nikky Finney's book Head Off and Split is a work of art in every sense. It combines both historical elements and personal elements. She shines the light on our countries habit of oppressing and enslaving African Americans. She masterfully weaves together the history of the time and her own memories in an unabashed way that lays bare the wrongdoings of our country. Forcing the reader to see part of our history that is often glossed and skimmed over in conventional textbooks. The poems in Head of nd Split are both political, and erotic, nd person as well as narrative driven. She is the conductor of the written word. Each word she uses is s music is the next weaving together a work of lyrical perfection. The book is mainly work of poetry with snippets of prose. With the beginning poem “Resurrection of the Errand Girl: An Introduction” being a prose poem. It hs also won the National book award in 2011. The opening poem Resurrection of the Errand Girl: an Introduction explains the title of the book Head Off And Split. It stems from the fishmonger's question Head Off and Split. The Translation being “ Do wy with the watery gray eyes , the impolite razor-sharp fins, the succulent heart, tender row, delicate sweet bones? Her answer, Yes.” Later on, in the poem, she returns to the

The first section deals with hard headed African American women. Using prominent historical figures like Rosa Parks and Condoleezza Rice to help push the narrative along. The first poem in the section was “Red Velvet” in which she narrates the struggle of one one seamstress that became an important figurehead of a movement. She goes from there to poems about victims of hurricane Katrina in “Left” and finishing off the section with some choice words about George W. Bush in “Plunder” and one of the people under his command in the “Condoleezza Suite”. all the poems in this section