SPOILER: Clifton's Emphasis on the Female Body

            Upon first reading Lucille Clifton’s poetry, I had no idea that she was an African American.  I remember on the first day of class, Professor Hanrahan mentioned that many female poets who are of African American descent consider themselves in a whole different category in regards to feminist literature.  With this in mind, I tried to differentiate between Clifton’s writing and that of Sylvia Plath’s.  However, despite my attempt to locate any major differences between the two, I was unable to find anything incredibly major.  Both women focus heavily on the female body, which I am still struggling to understand.

            From what I can gather, though, the emphasis on the body aids in illustrating womanhood to the reader.  Women, from a man’s viewpoint, are generally expected to fit a certain role.  Women are expected to be slim, with curves.  Anything other than the status quo is deemed unattractive.  Fitting a normality was even more difficult for African American women, especially prior to the 21^st century, being that they were degraded in public and viewed as inferior.  Without going into too much historical detail, it is quite easy for the reader to understand the hostility that pours through Clifton’s words.  However, this justified anger aids in making Clifton’s poetry timeless.