Public Platform Piece:
Found poetry serves as an attempt to find the narrative or emotions that are muddled by the rest of the story as well as the language found in the text. This found poem uses words and phrases from different portions of Beartown related to the pivotal rape scene. Maya's experience should be seen as a casualty of the negative consequences that sports can have. Through the reading of the poem, I hope that the audience will better understand Maya’s perspective as well as the trauma she endured. While this is something not everyone will go through in their life, hopefully it can provide a better sense of empathy in understanding Maya.
Found poetry serves as an attempt to find the narrative or emotions that are muddled by the rest of the story as well as the language found in the text. This found poem uses words and phrases from different portions of Beartown related to the pivotal rape scene. Maya's experience should be seen as a casualty of the negative consequences that sports can have. Through the reading of the poem, I hope that the audience will better understand Maya’s perspective as well as the trauma she endured. While this is something not everyone will go through in their life, hopefully it can provide a better sense of empathy in understanding Maya.
This poem serves as a collection of thoughts and quotes that surround the rape of Maya. This poem gives the audience a look into the mind of Maya as she deals with the actions that occurred between her and Kevin, but also the emotional battery that ensues when she shares her story. This poem functions as an attempt to enter Maya’s mind and the millions of thoughts that go through her head during the story. The town of Beartown shows the strong connection between power dynamics and sports. After Kevin is accused of raping Maya, his teammates, the working class, and the business men of Beartown rally together in order to protect Kevin because he is the star athlete and they believe he would never commit such a crime. However, due to the power that the men of the town possess, Kevin is protected and taken care of the whole novel. This poem and book explore how sports can twist the narrative in order to protect “the boy.” This is found in the words that appear in the poem but are crossed out, functioning as discourse that was present in the text, but incorrect and did not represent Maya in the way she deserved to be. Maya is conveyed as “the young woman” who wants attention through the separate quotes that have the lines split through the words. As the poem continues, the focus becomes on Maya’s emotions and the way she copes with the publicity and her identity in this sports culture town. As the poem progresses, the true emotions and facts of the case begin to surface, fading away from the crossed out words and focusing on the way that Maya evokes her emotions. By the end of the poem the repetition of words represent the repeated thoughts and emotions of Maya and how she is able to show strength and resiliency through this traumatic event. Maya’s ending quote “I’ve got wolf’s blood” serves as a pushback from the “bear” that is often discussed in the sports culture town. Maya’s wolf blood shows her resilience and her detachment from the sports culture that Beartown has imposed on so many people.
This poem serves as a collection of thoughts and quotes that surround the rape of Maya. This poem gives the audience a look into the mind of Maya as she deals with the actions that occurred between her and Kevin, but also the emotional battery that ensues when she shares her story. This poem functions as an attempt to enter Maya’s mind and the millions of thoughts that go through her head during the story. The town of Beartown shows the strong connection between power dynamics and sports. After Kevin is accused of raping Maya, his teammates, the working class, and the business men of Beartown rally together in order to protect Kevin because he is the star athlete and they believe he would never commit such a crime. However, due to the power that the men of the town possess, Kevin is protected and taken care of the whole novel. This poem and book explore how sports can twist the narrative in order to protect “the boy.” This is found in the words that appear in the poem but are crossed out, functioning as discourse that was present in the text, but incorrect and did not represent Maya in the way she deserved to be. Maya is conveyed as “the young woman” who wants attention through the separate quotes that have the lines split through the words. As the poem continues, the focus becomes on Maya’s emotions and the way she copes with the publicity and her identity in this sports culture town. As the poem progresses, the true emotions and facts of the case begin to surface, fading away from the crossed out words and focusing on the way that Maya evokes her emotions. By the end of the poem the repetition of words represent the repeated thoughts and emotions of Maya and how she is able to show strength and resiliency through this traumatic event. Maya’s ending quote “I’ve got wolf’s blood” serves as a pushback from the “bear” that is often discussed in the sports culture town. Maya’s wolf blood shows her resilience and her detachment from the sports culture that Beartown has imposed on so many people.