Question

In a paragraph, explain how Ortiz Cofer and Levins Morales express cultural identity through poetry. Use specific examples from each poem in your answer.
ANSWER: a first-person speaker

a third-person philosophical speaker

a free verse structure

imagery describing food

imagery describing language

allusions

a confident and assertive tone

a nostalgic and poetic tone

Answer 1

Ortiz Cofer and Levins Morales express cultural identity through poetry. If we take examples from their poems, They either present themselves as a first-person speaker

Child of the Americas" by Aurora Levins Morales

…”I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,

a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.

I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is my flesh,..”

Or a philosophical speaker

Judith Ortiz Cofer: "The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica"

..”she is the Patroness of Exiles,

a woman of no-age who was never pretty,

who spends her days selling canned memories

while listening to the Puerto Ricans complain

that it would be cheaper to fly to San Juan

than to buy a pound of Bustelo coffee here….”

The use of a free verse structure is present in their poems. Imagery describing food and language are widely used with a nostalgic poetic tone, that transports the readers to the most wonderful feelings and emotions using an assertive tone and allusions to their reality.

..”I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,

a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft…”.

…”Mother and Child magnetized

to the top of an ancient register,

the heady mix of smells from the open bins

of dried codfish, the green plantains

hanging in stalks like votive offerings,

Answer 2

This is a section of the poem "Child of the Americas" by Levins Morales:

I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.

I am not taína. Taíno is in me, but there is no way back.

I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there.

I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish.

I was born at the crossroads and I am whole.

This is a section of the poem  "El Olvido" by Ortiz Cofer:

It is a dangerous thing

to forget the climate of your birthplace,

to choke out the voices of dead relatives

when in dreams they call you

by your secret name.

In the first case, Levins Morales uses the first-person speaker, while in the second one, we see the use of a third-person philosophical speaker. Both authors use these voices in order to express their cultural identity through poetry. They both employ a free verse structure, and place great emphasis on language. Levins Morales focuses on the conflict of having a legacy made up of several different ethnicities and backgrounds. Ortiz Cofer, on the other hand, focuses on the idea of forgetting your legacy. Finally, both of them use a nostalgic and poetic tone.