Roses are Red, Violets are Blue: Poetry

Poet David Dominguez was born and raised in Fresno, California  in 1971. He attended CSU Fresno before transferring to UC Irvine, where he graduated with a BA in Comparative Literature in 1995. He then went on to attend the University of Arizona where he obtained his MFA in Creative Writing in 1997.

Dominguez is the author of two poetry collections, Work Done Right, published in 2003 by University Arizona Press, and his more recently published, The Ghost of Cesar Chavez, published in 2010 by C& R press. His works has also been anthologized in numerous books and has appeared in journals such as, The Bloomsbury Review, Crab Orchard Review, Poet Lore, and The Southern Review. His anthologized works include, Bear Flag Republic: Prose Poems and Poetics from California, Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina/o Writing, Breathe: 101 Cotemporary Odes, The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry, and many more.

A the age of 19, after reading "The Red Wheel Barrel" by William Carlos Williams for a class, Dominguez knew he wanted to become a poet. He says, " The work had amazing imagery", and that is one of Dominguez's strongest characteristics in his writing. Dominguez is known for his imagery, considered a Free Verse writer and writes from a Latino perspective. A resident of California's Central Valley, Dominguez writes poetry that reflects life in the area, often focusing on work and family history. In his collection, The Ghost of Cesar Chavez, Rigoberto Gonzalez, a poetry column writer for the El Paso Times in Texas and revered poet, elaborated on the importance of imagery/place, noting that the Central Valley is "a place where generations of Mexican families have lived, worked and witnessed periods of both economic hardship and prosperity... Dominguez pays homage to a different fruit of his labor: the hard-won comforts of domesticity and the impulse to reflect on the legacy of sacrifice."

In reading The Wind Shifts, I came across one poem that placed a sense of all the characteristics highlighted in David's work. I saw the Imagery, the struggles, the pain, the unfairness of life toward Latino groups. His poem "Fingers" shows just that. He starts out, " Because of the frozen meat and a silver ring, my index finger swelled and dimmed... the men held my wrist and used a saw... Nothing passed time like work, unconscious work when the bones pounded and the muscles stretched... Julio jumped on a stool and lowered half his body in the machine, when his thigh brushed the go button, the blade moved an inch and sliced off his index finger... He pushed away those who tried to help, he didn't cry out, how he asked for my smock and held his hand to his chest.... Most of all, I thought about myself: would I have screamed, could I have taken the pain, walked outside to the employee payphone, and with  good hand still held steady, dialed 9-1-1..." This poem struck me because of the way he describes the situation, a finger being cut off, refusing help, the working conditions, walking OUTSIDE to use the PAYPHONE, shows the life of Latinos to me.

Many of the other poems in this book, reflect David's life after marriage and trying to build his home. He uses a lot of imagery and the way he talks about the workers is a great indicator that they are Latino as well. In his poem "ROOF" he writes, " At lunch I go watch the Mexicanos who are putting the ceiling on my house. They don't like me the moment I park at the curb. Extension cords crisscross the slab. I nod at the fellow with the saw. He's watching my feet, nervous i'll trip and pull the diamond-cut teeth through skin, veins and bones... They have names for me, pocho, gringo. The one with the nail gun nods but before I look away he punches three pennies into a board.... I can take a hint. Days ago, I saw a nest in the beams. Now it lies on the floor, a dove's refuge smashed under a boot... This is funny to me, because of the actions of the workers, but also because David is showing how frustrating it would be for people you are working for to watch you all the time, seeing your every move, waiting for you to do something wrong. These are issues I think David is trying to address in his works. He really has the back of the Latino community.

Currently,  David is a English Professor at Reedley College in California. His goal is to get as many students as possible into English 1A. He stresses the importance of earning a four-year degree to all of his students, especially the Latino students. Currently, only 11 percent of Latino students graduate with a BA, four percent with a MA, and only one percent with a PhD-these statistics that he would like to see improved. Dominguez is the co-founder and poetry editor of The Packinghouse Review. I hope that everyone get a chance to read some of David's work, I find it to be really interesting and great work!

Why Study Mexican American/Latino Lit?

When the class first began this semester, I must say that I knew nothing about Latino/Mexican literature. I was a virgin to the subject and the stories we have been reading has really given me experience in the language and the context in which the Latino writers are writing. The story lines and plots of the books we have been reading really gives me a sense of the Latino culture and some of the events and struggles in their lives mirror my own struggles as well.

Ann asks the question, Why study Mexican American/Latino literature? The answers seem quite easy, but the realities make those answers difficult because of the convictions we feel when recollecting thoughts about it. Mexican American/ Latino cultures have had a rough beginning, since the Voyages of Columbus from 1492-1504. Especially after the Spanish Conquest in Mexico and the indigenous people became part of the Encomienda system, Mexico became a place of hardships and struggles. The mixing of cultures, languages and races became a problem(Spanish became primary language to smooth things out). A racial and cultural hierarchy established itself, Spaniards, Criollos, Mestizos, Indians and Blacks. Anzaldua talks about the differences in languages and the complexity of the origins in Borderlands. The taming of the wild tongue was intriguing because it shows how cultural hierarchies are in place (Spanish/English) hierarchy. She talks about her experience in school as kids would make fun of her because of the way she spoke.

The study of Literature in Mexican American/Latino cultures contrasts the ways in which journalism would portray. Journalism is often exaggerated and sometimes not factual. Whereas, literature would give facts, dates, real life experiences and struggles. Journalism is mainly in the male perspectives, whereas, we have been reading literature in both male and female perspectives. The Latino and Mexican communities are given legitimacy in the novels and poems we have been reading. We get a sense of what the cultures are, in the writings and the experiences of the authors. Most of the readings give reference to the "border". This is very important in Latino/Mexican American literature because of the lives lost trying to cross the border, the splitting of families because of the border, struggling to find an identity because of the border, and so on.

It is very important that Mexican American/Latino literature is captivated in our lives and that we have some empathy toward the hardships they face. Being a minority myself, I can totally relate to the struggles, I understand what finding an identity is about. The question is, how can we make it more understandable to others outside of our studies. What can we do to make it clear that Latino and Mexican voices are the same as ours? These are questions that I leave you all with....

The Guardians and The Devil's Highway

Both novels gives us a look into the border politics and immigration techniques that the central characters are faced when crossing the threatening harsh deserts in search for a better opportunity and life for themselves. The single notion of opportunity is a major theme in the stories. Like The Guardians, the Devil's Highway gives us a look at the illegal crossings that many immigrants experience and their use of the Coyote system to get across is key in understanding how the United States has many laws in place to prevent these people from coming over.

Coyotes are people who smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Like any other illegal system or illegal dealings, there are risks that one must take. You have to put you trust into someone that you do not know. You have to trust that whatever you do will ultimately help you and these things are not guaranteed. The men in the Devil's Highway put their trust in the Coyotes that are "helping" them cross over into the United States. Obviously there are some risks and the story proves this. The coyotes themselves get lost on the trail, does not inform the guys and take another route. Some of the men lost their lives and others were very close to death. Parallel with this, The Guardians shows how the Coyotes took Gabo's mother's life when crossing the desert. Rafa, Gabo's father is missing as well as he is crossing the border.

The problem I have with both stories is not of the illegal crossings, or the loss of lives on the desert; but the United States' harsh immigration laws, and the strenuous process of gaining citizenship. In one scene in the Guardians, Regina is talking to her mother and she is telling her how great it would feel to get her papers. To solidify her citizenship by getting her papers is the ultimate dream. She says this is how she knows she is a real person. That was very sad for me because as for me being a citizen of the U.S. already, I do not relate to not having proper identification. I do not have to apply for a visa to stay in the U.S. This whole situation of immigration and the process of gaining citizenship is a frustrating and harshly exhaustive process. I am glad we are able to talk about this issue and that it is being talked about throughout my classes and throughout the school. Now I can only hope to make some impact in more than just ways of discussion, but actually putting plans together to help people get through this process much easier.

9500 Liberty

9500 Liberty was a very interesting and eye opening movie for me. It was eye opening for me because I got to see how prejudice and discriminatory the "probable cause act" was that allowed local law enforcement to target people who "looked" like illegal immigrants. This act was a great depiction of how corrupt our government is and how prejudice our society is against people who are not the "average American".

I was incredibly offended by the points of views that were portrayed in the movie. I felt sorry, not only for the Latino's of Manasas, but for the whites who are prejudice against them. America was founded by "illegal immigrants" from European countries who migrated in search for a better life and opportunities for their families, and for Americans to be prejudice against people who are in search of the same things, is quite contradictory to me. In the movie, most of the whites were saying that people should speak english in order to be considered an American. There are many different races and cultures in America, some who do not speak any english and others who are bilingual. I think the main problem that people have with immigrants is not the person themselves, but the language.

I want to know if Americans have such problems and concerns with illegal immigrants, instead of trying to send them back to their country, why not prevent them from coming by helping out. Instead of trying to gain economic superiority and exploiting resources that we take from these countries and hiring illegal immigrants, we should prevent these business owners, CEO's of companies, factory owners, etc... from hiring people without proper documentation. We should maintain a standard of integrity that we speak so highly of in our society. The problem lies with these companies who are willing to pay little to nothing to illegals rather than pay Americans the deserved amounts for our skills.

Overall, this movie enlightened me on what America is really about: MONEY. Instead of using their so called "faith" and belief in God to justify hatred toward a certain group of people, we should use the true meaning of God's word, LOVE, to embrace, teach, and apply Godly views of humanity to the world.