Book Review: Life as a Sclerian (A. Rahman Ford)Reviewed by Michael NorthenThere are writers whose ideas about art are more powerful than the art they actually produce. For me, Charles Olson falls into that category and, if his first book, Life as a Sclerian, is representative, A. Rahman Ford might prove another. The subtitle of the self-published book – Poetry of on Politics and Peripherality – itself, hints that for Ford pedagogy precedes art. There has been something of a renaissance in political poetry recently, witnessed by the increasing growth of organizations such as Split This Rock, and while the poetry of disability has moved from the activist/sloganist orientation that characterized it in street marches to the literary academy, the degree to which disability poetry is obligated to be overtly political is still the subject of debate. In that context then, Ford's book deserves a voice in the conversation. Life as a Sclerian is divided into two parts, the "Preface" and the poems themselves. Ford writes in his "Preface" that each of the poems is meant to be able to stand alone, but in order for the poems to the work as they are intended to, reading the "Preface" is absolutely essential. It begins with quotes from Paul Robeson and the Austrian painter Egon Schiele. Both created work that was rejected by the mainstream society in which they lived, but counter this rejection in different ways, Robeson by continuing to be defiant and Schiele by compromising. Ford identifies with these artists, positioning himself as an outsider. Ford comes to the book with a background in academia and a doctoral degree in political science. Despite the efforts that he put into scholarly work, he came to the realization, like Robeson, that the constraints within which he had to work did not allow him really accomplish what he had set out to do. He writes, "What I found conspicuously absent was the story beyond the data, the story that seemed to be obscured within the political science jargon that, to me, was disabling in its accessibility and inclusivity. " What Ford found even more disturbing was that in writing an academic dissertation, he was in fact contributing to the very exclusionary institution that he had vowed to oppose. The upshot was that Ford decided to turn to turn to art, specifically poetry. Though the image of the poet as radical is a relatively recent one ushered in with Romanticism, the tools available to a poet working outside of major societal institutions are less restrictive and the space for working greater. In Ford's words, "Dreams and mythology, imagination and violence, the fantastical and the degenerate – these vehicles of truth-telling transcend material reductionism by opening a portal beyond the reflexive, rote stuck means of knowledge dissemination privileged by the academy. " The result of Ford's change in direction is Life as a Sclerian. In an attempt to give voice to those who are on the margins of society, Ford has summoned a variety of voices from political archetypes that compete with each other to tell their story and advocate their views. It is a messy process, but as Whitman pointed out, democracy like the poet, is full of contradictory voices. This messiness and multiplicity of voices also allows the author to experiment with various techniques without needing to account for inconsistency. I've dwelt Ford's "Preface" at length because, despite the fact that he has failed to shed the academic jargon he militates against, it is well written and raises important questions that writers coming from the disabilities community or any other group that finds itself in the position of a cultural minority needs to consider. Moreover, he has proposed a possible solution. One that readers might see as faintly reminiscent of the allegories Blake created in prophetic works. For my money, the "Preface" is the heart of the book. Before looking at few of the poems, I want to cite one more section from the "Preface." In addition to my blackness, my disability has also colored my perspective on identity. In particular, the spiritual and emotional turmoil that came with my journey from being relatively able to decidedly disabled has made me acutely aware of a version of discrimination I was previously unaware of. It was a subconscious othering, peripheralization perpetrated by people who were "good" people who no longer had any idea what to do with me. So they chose to ignore me because I could no longer eat and no longer walk and no longer come out to play. Unlike race, disability made the limitations imposed upon me more tangible, more material, more grating. I've quoted this passage, not because it lends the authenticity of experience to Ford's poetry – although it does – but because in reading these poems, it is easy to forget that the author does have a disability. Few of the poem reflect disability experience in any literal way and that may be a disappointment to those with disabilities who feel that the author passed up an opportunity to speak out for them. However, the issues that these poems surface are still relevant. The book's initial poem is also the title poem, and, as Ford points out in his introduction, sets the stage for the remainder of the book. It begins:
In the darkness of our desert the tribal elders tell us stories about The sclera – the white of the eye – which in humans takes up the greater portion of the eye is immediately set off in opposition to the pupil. The pupil, controlling light, at the center; the sclera, in the margins. Analogously, the Sclerians are those who have been forced to live in darkness while the "people of the Pupil" who olonized them live in light. It's a strong start with the litany of because lines recreating the feel of being trod over. As the myth continues, readers learn that the Sclerians have been tossed Milton-like into a desert of endless night into "the nether of the Sclera." A second component of the myth develops a bit further down in the poem:
The elders tell the children tales about the society that lies beyond our land's edge, To illustrate the contrast between the world the myth of the Irisites and the dark world in which the Sclerians dwell, Ford switches from black font to a pallet of colors. Irisites is printed with a different color for each letter and words like lemonand beet in yellow and magenta. It is an interesting move, one that would in theory underscore the inability of people who dwell within certain limitations (whether perceptual or social) to imagine something beyond their own experiences. Unfortunately, in practice, especially when coupled with affectatious spellings like !r…e..B.ELL.I..o…n!, it comes across as cute and gimmicky. Nevertheless, in the lead off poem Ford has established the basics of his archetypal world – the parties in conflict, the history and motives behind their actions, and a myth within a myth that will serve as a basis for contention on which the Sclerians themselves will base their actions. With the book's fourth poem, Ford begins to shift into other voices. The first is in the voice of a Pupillarian high priest, and from then on the lines tend to blur. The reader may begin to feel, as I did, that the initial poem of the book was the best. One other poem that does set itself apart because it clearly sets out and amplifies some of the contending positions of people on the margins in just how to handle their marginalization – whether a results from one's race, religion or disability – is "A Sclerian Schism. " Ford effectively uses the familiar format of spatial separation to differentiate between three speakers in a debate.
We need to be united. Though all speakers are mired in the same situation, each has a different solution, and Ford lays these out throughout the poem, keeping the voices in relative balance. It will be easy enough for readers to do a mental check through history to match faces to positions. Possibly not quite so obvious at first glance, however, is their application to debate in disability studies over medical model vs. social construction model or a civil rights approach vs. a postmodernist approach. Though this poem gains from being scaffolded to the book's mythological framework, it is one of the few poems that can stand alone without much loss of impact. So far, I've commented on two poems that I feel deserve the readers time and effort. They are thought provoking and, in the main (goofy colors not withstanding), well-executed. I'd be remiss, though, if I did not offer a sample that was more typical of the poems in the volume. This comes from one called "Our Chief on Tria"l":
I watch voyeuristically, I chose this passage purposely because there is a certain quality to much of the poetry that does indeed have a voyeuristic feel to it to it. The reader may wonder if they haven't wandered into a blaxplotation film or – to borrow of one of Ford's poem title – "Wet Dream Escapism. " Even that aside, it is hard to make the case that this is destined to be remembered as great poetry. If Life as a Sclerian is stronger in its conception than in it's execution, more successful it is ideas than its art this may partially reflect the fact that the author is an academic making his first forays into the world of poetry. One's past is always the shell the snail carries on its back. Having said that, there are many reasons for taking a look at Ford's inaugural book, not the least of which that it challenges readers to consider important issues and new ways of addressing the artistic challenges that political poetry poses. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but then neither was William Blake.
Title: Life as a Sclerian
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