Claudia Rankine and the Concepts of Lyrical Writing

The following is a piece I wrote for my Intro to Literary Studies course in Fall 2019 on the poet Claudia Rankine and her use of lyrical writing in Citizen: An American Lyric.

This essay was the winner of Northeastern University’s English Program’s Peter Burton Hanson Award for Scholarly Writing in March, 2020.

ENGL 1400 — Professor Patrick Mullen

Relatively new works of writing, whether they be poetry or prose, oftentimes do not align completely with what has been deemed standard. Recently published pieces may not always adhere to the precedents of a particular style or form of writing. Innovative ideas are brought to well-known processes, altering the final product and, to a certain extent, testing the limits of the genre. Claudia Rankine’s work Citizen: An American Lyric serves as an example of this type of writing, where the lyrical style of writing is somewhat challenged through the introduction of specific practices. Despite its title, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is not the type of lyrical writing that meets the standards set by the past. In the Norton Introduction to Poetry, lyric poems are described as being “ … relatively short … focus[ing] primarily on the feelings, impressions, and thoughts — that is, on the subjective, inward experience — of a single first-person speaker” (Norton Introduction to Poetry 406). At face value, Citizen may seem to be a rather abstract approach to the lyric — the broad issues of color and identity in the face of systemic racism are addressed throughout a lengthy medium using experiences of an ambiguous narrator. Neither of these characteristics fit exactly with the definition of lyric poetry provided, yet this is precisely how Citizen challenges the idea of the lyric. The entirety of Citizen is centered around internal impressions and subjective perspectives on certain situations — the owner of these thoughts is left vague purposefully to allow for the experiences to be applicable to a particular audience.

The stories and experiences found in Citizen are not explicitly explained to have happened to the narrator or not, but the qualities of these stories indicate how applicable they are to all black people in the United States. Specifically, Rankine’s use of the word “you” shifts perspective to the reader placing them in the described situation and forcing them to comprehend its racial implications, regardless of their race or ethnicity. For example, Rankine describes an instance in which a man uses a racial slur to describe a group of teenagers. The subject of the story, after expressing anger at the language, is met with the response: “Now there you go” (Rankine 16). Here, the use of “you” draws attention to how the man considers the individual who spoke up to be the cause of the problem; their sensitivity speaking to a racist stereotype of a loud and aggressive black person. This “you”, as it has been applied to all readers, pushes one to consider why the man indicates to have expected this response. Although the language used in this section, like many others, is in the second-person instead of first, its use both facilitates comprehension of the topics at hand, as well as contributes to the idea of their relevance to all black Americans. Rankine’s writing here is lyrical, though on the surface it may not seem to be based on the use of the impressions of an entire group of people rather than the individual. As previously discussed, this is an example of where Rankine challenges the idea of lyrical writing. The method Rankine uses fits Citizen within this specific definition of lyrical poetry, while it aligns with the other characteristics of both lyric poetry and prose in many ways throughout the book.

Rankine makes use of both lyrical poetry and prose in Citizen, the application of each producing a distinct effect. In the Norton Introduction to Poetry, different types of lyrical poems are explored. Citizen does not use a rhyme scheme like ones found in William Wordsworth’s “I wandered lonely as a child” or Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America”. Instead, Citizen formatting is more in line with that of Frank O’Hara’s “Poem” on the collapse of Lana Turner. Akin to this poem, Rankine does not use a clear rhyme scheme in the sections where the writing turns poetic. Section VII of Citizen is particularly poetic in style, written as follows: “The patience is in the living. Time opens out to you. / The opening, between you and you, occupied, zoned for an encounter, / given the histories of you and you — / And always, who is this you?” (Rankine 140). This version of lyrical poetic language is similar to the stream of consciousness found in O’Hara’s “Poem”. Unlike O’Hara, however, is the challenging nature of the words, which contributes to the perception of Citizen as an abstract approach to the subject matter and lyrical style. That being said, the sections of lyrical poetry in the book are meant to supplement the lyrical prose found throughout; both are in the same style, but each gives a different effect. The lyrical prose is meant to explain the problems caused by societal racism, while the lyrical poetry works to explore the thoughts and impressions left by this overarching problem. In addition to the Norton description of lyrical poetry concerning “the subjective, inward experience,’’ (Norton 406) the Norton Introduction to Poetry also states that “Most lyrics require us to infer a general theme from a specific experience, but some offer more explicit reflection, commentary, even argument” (Norton 408). The concepts of reflection, commentary, and argument can all be found in the lyrical prose of Rankine’s Citizen.

Word choice is crucial to the audience’s understanding of tone and meaning, especially in the case of reflection on experiences. Throughout Citizen, the narrator reflects on certain events, many if not all of which are common to all victims of racism within society. Rankine’s use of the word “you” in the retelling of these experiences allows the reader to understand the situation by relating themselves to it, as previously discussed. The word “you” returns to serve this same purpose later on in the course of the book, allowing the audience to identify with the victim of an incident of profiling. Rankine writes: “And you are not the guy and still you fit the description because there is only one guy who is always the guy fitting the description” (Rankine 108), which serves to make the reader understand the versatility of the circumstance. The narrator and the reader reflect on the topic, opening the door for questions on the reality of things and why such mistakes still happen within law enforcement. Rankine brings experiences such as this to the forefront of discussion through lyrical language in prose; said experiences move away from being subjective or inward, they are instead the subjects of reflecting. This is also the case with commentary, which is often the method of thinking that follows the reflectionary period.

Lyrical prose is used to make statements on the stagnant characteristics of racism in today’s society. Near the start of the book, the narrator explains that “you and your friend decided that “yes, and” attested to a life with no turn-off, no alternative routes” (Rankine 8). This choice to accept takes a stance on the barring abilities of racism at present. “Yes, and” indicates an acceptance of the way things are, which in itself is commentary on racism. Rankine also provides commentary on societal racism with the inclusion of certain works of art throughout the book. These works certainly challenge the idea of lyric writing, but they are important supplementary material to the statements being made in the prose and poetry of Citizen. Rankine includes the painting “The Slave Ship” by J. M. W. Turner, which is alluded to when she writes in a poetic section of the book “ … and if you let in the excess emotion you will recall the Atlantic Ocean breaking on our heads” (Rankine 73). Here, Rankine calls upon the reader to understand the reference to the Middle Passage and slave trade from Africa to the Americas, commenting on how these origins affect a group of people today. Turner’s painting supports the statements made by Rankine’s lyrical poetry, giving the reader a visual to further their understanding of the subject at hand.

The final concept the Norton Introduction to Poetry describes lyrical writing to include is argument. Just as reflection transitions into commentary, commentary transitions easily into argument. Rankine’s overarching argument throughout Citizen focuses on how black people within society are forced to live with the effects of racism within society — that they must conform to a certain expectation in order to carry on without backlash. Serena Williams and her tennis career are the center of this argument. Rankine discusses how Williams was ridiculed for her outbursts at the potentially racist actions of officiators and fellow athletes through lyrical prose. The narrator pushes this idea onto the reader, stating that “though no one was saying anything explicitly about Serena’s black body, you are not the only viewer who thought it was getting in the way of [the umpire]’s sight line” (Rankine 27). Despite this experience and similar future ones, Williams is not expected to get angry, contributing to the argument being made by Rankine through lyrical prose: that the experiences of black people in society are not deemed justification for their reactions by the white majority. When the narrator advised “you” not to allow emotions to take over, the consequences would have been the recollection of all the wrongs done to an entire group of people. Losing control of these emotions would jeopardize the majority’s tolerance, just as the man responded with “Now there you go” when the narrator described commenting on the racist treatment of adolescents. By encompassing reflection, commentary, and argument within lyrical prose, Rankine solidifies the status of this writing and the capabilities of challenging the precedents of this writing.

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is exactly that. The work can be described as both lyrical prose and poetry as a result of its use of certain methods (i.e. the inclusion of art, an ambiguous subject, etc.), not despite these methods. Rankine challenges standards of lyrical writing in several ways, which work to her advantage in crafting a fresh approach to both the subject matter and the lyrical style of writing.