I've Been a Woman by Sonia Sanchez
"I've Been a Woman" is a significant poetry collection by Sonia Sanchez that encompasses selections from her major works up to 1978. This anthology captures the essence of Sanchez's poetic vision, intertwining personal introspection with broader societal concerns. The collection features poems from notable works such as "Homecoming," "We a BaddDDD People," and "Love Poems," among others, showcasing her exploration of identity and the experiences of African Americans. Sanchez's poetry is known for its clear-eyed commentary on issues like drug addiction, particularly its impact on the African American community, which she reflects upon in works like "Wounded in the House of a Friend."
A standout feature of Sanchez's poetry is her ability to blend personal and public themes, as illustrated in her poem "Summary," where the narrator's internal reflection leads to political awareness and solutions. Additionally, the collection includes a section dedicated to "Haikus/Tankas & Other Love Syllables," exemplifying her versatility as a poet. Sanchez's work presents a quest for identity not only for herself but also for other women, often drawing on archetypes like the Earth Mother to bridge past experiences with future aspirations. Overall, "I've Been a Woman" serves as a powerful exploration of self-determination and the complexities of African American women's lives.
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Subject Terms
I've Been a Woman by Sonia Sanchez
First published: 1978
The Work
I’ve Been a Woman: New and Selected Poems is a compilation of selections from Sonia Sanchez’s major works up to 1978. This collection offers a cross section of the themes that characterize Sonia Sanchez’s poetic vision. Sanchez’s work balances the private and the public. The private, or introspective poems, are intensely personal. The public poems cover a number of concerns. Selections from Homecoming (1969), We a BaddDDD People (1970), Love Poems (1973), A Blues Book for Blue Black Magical Women (1974), and Generations: Selected Poetry 1969-1985 (1986) make up I’ve Been a Woman.
Themes include issues of identity among African Americans. Sanchez’s work is characterized by her ability to offer clear-eyed commentary on African American conditions while offering poetry of destiny and self-determination. For example, one of Sanchez’s ongoing concerns is drug addiction among African Americans. In works such as Wounded in the House of a Friend (1995), she focuses this concern on the devastating effects of addiction to crack cocaine.
This intermingling of themes is found in poems such as “Summary.” This poem represents an example of Sanchez’s technique. She combines personal and public concerns. Within this poem, Sanchez does not allow the narrator to move inward and remain there. She seems to assume an introspective position as a momentary restful pose. In this energizing space, the narrator is renewed and arrives at a political solution to problems noted in the poems.
The poems included in these sections are examples of Sanchez’s virtuosity as a poet. Section 5 is devoted exclusively to Sanchez’s “Haikus/Tankas & Other Love Syllables.” Use of forms offers an example of the poet’s technique.
This collection offers an excellent example of Sanchez’s range as an artist. In the various sections of I’ve Been a Woman, the speaker of Sanchez’s poetry is revealed as a quester for identity and resolution. Distinguished from male quest epics, Sanchez’s quest focuses on the desire to embark on a quest not only for herself but also for other women as well. The knowledge that the quester seeks is assumed to be available in the person of an Earth Mother who can help the quester understand the relationship between past and present. Such a figure can also help the quester learn to have faith in the future.
Bibliography
Evans, Mari, ed. Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984. One of the essential critical texts for a study of African American poets. Includes an interview with Sanchez and several incisive critical essays.
Gabbin, Joanne Veal. “The Southern Imagination of Sonia Sanchez.” In Southern Women Writers: The New Generation, edited by Tonnette Bond Inge. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990.
Gibson, Donald, ed. Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1973. Includes an essay by R. Roderick Palmer, “The Poetry of Three Revolutionists,” that covers Sanchez.
Jennings, Regina B. “The Blue/Black Poetics of Sonia Sanchez.” In Language and Literature in the African American Imagination, edited by Carol Aisha Blackshire-Belay. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1992.
Joyce, Joyce Ann. “The Development of Sonia Sanchez: A Continuing Journey.” Indian Journal of American Studies 13 (July, 1983): 37-71.
Melhem, D. H. Heroism in the New Black Poetry. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1990. A compilation of critical essays and interviews with Sanchez and some of her peers, such as Jayne Cortez, Gwendolyn Brooks, Haki Madhubuti, Amiri Baraka, and Dudley Randall. Includes a useful bibliography.
Sanchez, Sonia. “Exploding Myths: An Interview with Sonia Sanchez.” Interview by Herbert Liebowitz. Parnassus:Poetry in Review 12-13, nos. 2-1 (Spring-Winter, 1985): 357-368. A pointed, probing discussion with Sanchez conducted by the publisher of Parnassus.
Tate, Claudia, ed. Black Women Writers at Work. New York: Continuum, 1983. Contains an interview with Sanchez in which the poet expresses her opinions and ideas about politics, black studies programs, poetics, and her early life. Provoca-tive, candid, and appealing.