A More Positive and Collective Function: June Jordan, Language, and the Role of the Poet

• In Event: Language as Resistance

Abstract

A poet, writer, teacher and activist, June Jordan’s extensive body of written work is attuned to the linguistic dimensions of oppressive power and the ability of poets and writers to harness language as a form of resistance. Analyzing a small selection of Jordan’s political essays and poetry, this paper explores how Jordan conceptualized and grappled with what she termed the “politics of language” as an oppressive force and potential tool for resistance. Further, I consider the central significance of “Black English” to Jordan’s artistic endeavors as a form of creative dissent against the strictures of “Standard White English.”

Presenter

• Sam King-Shaw, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies University at Buffalo SUNY