Analysis of The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica
The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica is full of vivid imagery and everyday observation. The main theme is that of the uprooting of the immigrant, the latin American with roots in the 'old world' but with a life in the new - the USA.
These immigrants visit the shop to keep in touch with their pasts and to chat with the hostess, who gets to know their emotional dreams and fears, as well as slicing off some ham and cheese for bodily nourishment.
It has lines full of ordinary description and lines with figurative language. There are food items for sale plus memories which come in a can. The synthetic mixes with the natural, as does Spanish with English and the past with the future.
Basically, it combines a fixed biography with the restless world of those not yet assimilated in the new culture, everything seen through the eyes of the Patroness of Exiles.
This objective narrative gives the poem a broader context, the speaker is able to commentate, much like in a novel or piece of fiction, seeing life at a distance yet avoiding mere opinion.
So it is that the immigrants are tolerated, welcomed, understood and given sustenance. The Patroness has probably been in a similar situation herself and so puts up with all the gripes and groans, the idiosyncracies and the swing between dream and disappointment.
In a way she is like the Statue of Liberty, welcoming the needy with an open heart and mind, turning no-one away.
She mediates between those who long for a return to their homeland but who must find a way of making a living in the new world. She understands the nostalgic grip the past can have on the heart, yet she must somehow do business in the here and now - with those metaphorical closed ports.
So, by creating this world where real life meets poetry - on a customer's list of items - the speaker is able to come to terms with the struggle the shoppers have to gain a sense of identity.
The goods for sale in the deli help them achieve this. The food and candy help restore the self, give consolation and reassurance. It's up to the Patroness to discover just what each of them needs; she gives more than just value for money, she is a magician for these migrants, she mothers them and restores something to their souls.
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