[0]Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they calledus. …Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a manleaves you somewhere. …In case a man pushes you out hiscar. …At an intersection. …In the middle of a suburb.…A suburb with no street signs and no cab stands. …Asuburb where all the houses are dark with sameness.…Always wear clean underwear. …If you need help, find achurch. …If there’s a bus, it just might be your friendswho throw you under it.[1]Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves yousomewhere. …In case a man pushes you out his car. …Asuburb where all the houses are dark with sameness. …Incase there is a tornado. …My name is Bess and I ain’t inthat mess. …In case the bus crashes. …If you need help,find a church. …Find a Baptist church. Black folks’ll bethere. …Keep one eye open on your so-called friends.…My own mama worked in white folks’ houses all her life.…Into the Lord I put my amens. …If there’s a bus, itjust might be your friends who throw you under it.[2]When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnam and died there.…Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what theycalled us. …In case a man pushes you out his car. …Inthe middle of a suburb. …A suburb with no street signs andno cab stands. …I’m just tellin you what my mama told meto keep us safe. …In case the bus crashes. …If you needhelp, find a church. …Keep one eye open on your so-calledfriends.[3]All you gotta do in this life is stay black and die.…Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what theycalled us. …Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case aman leaves you somewhere. …In case a man pushes you outhis car. …In the middle of a suburb. …A suburb you havenever been to before. …I wish I didn’t have to say it butI do: keep a top eye open. …In case there is a tornado.…In case the bus crashes. …Find a Baptist church. Blackfolks’ll be there. …Into the Lord I put my amens. …Ifthere’s a bus, it just might be your friends who throw youunder it.[5]Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves yousomewhere. …In case a man pushes you out his car. …At anintersection. …A suburb you have never been to before.…Always wear clean underwear. …In case there is atornado. …I’m just tellin you what my mama told me to keepus safe. …You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by afriend. Just wait. …My name is Bess and I ain’t in thatmess. …In case the bus crashes.[6]All you gotta do in this life is stay black.…When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnamand died there. …At an intersection. …Inthe middle of a suburb. …A suburb with no street signs andno cab stands. …Always wear clean underwear. …In casethere is a tornado. …You’ll get called a n-gger, probablyby a friend. Just wait. …In case the bus crashes. …Finda Baptist church. Black folks’ll be there. …Into the LordI put my amens. …Of course I told your brother not tolook too long at white women.[7]When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnam and died there.…Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what theycalled us. …At an intersection. …A suburb you havenever been to before. …Always wear clean underwear.…You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by a friend. Justwait. …In case the bus crashes. …If you need help, finda church. …My own mama worked in white folks’ houses allher life. …Into the Lord I put my amens. …Of course Itold your brother not to look too long at white women.[8]Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves yousomewhere. …At an intersection. …A suburb you have neverbeen to before. …I wish I didn’t have to say it but I do:keep a top eye open. …In case there is a tornado. …I’mjust tellin you what my mama told me to keep us safe. …Ifyou need help, find a church. …Find a Baptist church.Black folks’ll be there. …Keep that top eye open on your so-called friends. …My own mama worked in white folks’ housesall her life. …Of course I told your brother not tolook too long at white women.[9]All you gotta do in this country is stay black and die.…Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what theycalled us. …Been that way since Hector was a puppy. …At anintersection. …I wish I didn’t have to say it but I do:keep a top eye open. …Always wear clean underwear. …Incase there is a tornado. …I’m just tellin you what my mamatold me to keep us safe. …You’ll get called a n-gger,probably by a friend. Just wait. …In case the buscrashes. …If you need help, find a church. …Keep one eyeopen on your so-called friends.
Coming of Age Stories
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- October 29, 2020
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“Coming of Age Stories” from TRAVESTY GENERATOR: by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram.
Published by Noemi Press December 1st 2019.
Copyright © 2019 by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
Illustration by Polinavur, via Covatar
Lillian-Yvonne Bertram’s most recent book of poetry is Travesty Generator (Noemi Press, 2019), which Cathy Park Hong called, “trailblazing.” Their other poetry collections include Personal Science (Tupelo Press, 2017); a slice from the cake made of air (Red Hen Press 2016); and But a Storm is Blowing From Paradise (Red Hen Press, 2012), chosen by Claudia Rankine as the winner of the 2010 Benjamin Saltman Award. Bertram’s other publications include the chapbook cutthroat glamours (Phantom Books, 2012), winner of the Phantom Books chapbook award; the artist book Grand Dessein (commissioned by Container Press), a mixed media artifact that meditates on the work and writing of the artist Paul Klee and was recently acquired by the Special Collections library at St. Lawrence University; and Tierra Fisurada, a Spanish poetry chapbook published in Argentina (Editoriales del Duende, 2002). They collaborated with the artist Laylah Ali for the exhibition booklet of her 2017 art show The Acephalous Series.
"I am astonished by Lillian Yvonne Bertram’s trailblazing poetry in Travesty Generator. Bertram uses open-source coding to generate haunting inquiring elegies to Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner, and Emmett Till. By framing their 'counter-narratives' of black lives in code and social media optimization, Bertram brilliantly conveys how black experience becomes codified, homogenized, and branded for capitalist dissemination. Code, written by white men, is part of the hardwired system of white supremacy, where structural violence begets itself. But Bertram hacks into it. They re-engineer language by synthesizing the lyric and coding script, taking the baton from Harryette Mullen and the Oulipians and dashing with it to late 21st century black futurity. Travesty Generator is genius."
— Cathy Park Hong, author of Engine Empire, and Dance Dance Revolution
"Combining digital tools and prestidigital artistry, Lillian-Yvonne Bertram’s Travesty Generator powerfully breaks and remakes contemporary poetry’s 'small machine of words.' Timely in its sociopolitical critique and visionary in its formal inventiveness, Bertram’s collection offers a guide to a poetics of the new Afro/future."
—John Keene, MacArthur Fellow, author of Counternarratives
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