Saturday, February 27, 2010

Martin Espada - Captain Bringdown!

Espada’s poetry is infused with a revisionist historical analysis of great figures that presents the modern disintegration of American idolatry. Specifically, I am referencing “Bully,” a poem detailing the erosion and reversal of Teddy Roosevelt. In the school that Espada presents, a statue of the famous President resides in the school auditorium, emasculated and defaced. Roosevelt was famous, prior to leading the Bull Moose party to the White House, for his Rough Riders’ exploits in Cuba. Being from New York, Roosevelt was honored and idolized, including statues being erected around the city in his honor. The school of this poem was once a symbol of his exploits, though with the rise of diversity and the multicultural infusion of the country, the basic ideas of Roosevelt no longer exist.

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