Black History Poet/Poem by Jon Tyler Munar https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz This padlet describes the poem "Black Boys Play the Classics", created by African-American poet Toi Derricotte. en-us 2022-02-01 13:24:45 UTC 2022-02-08 13:17:52 UTC hello@padlet.com Black Boys Play the Classics - Toi Derricotte 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2023295003 The most popular “act” in
Penn Station
is the three black kids in ratty
sneakers & T-shirts playing
two violins and a cello—Brahms.
White men in business suits
have already dug into their pockets
as they pass and they toss in
a dollar or two without stopping.
Brown men in work-soiled khakis
stand with their mouths open,
arms crossed on their bellies
as if they themselves have always
wanted to attempt those bars.
One white boy, three, sits
cross-legged in front of his
idols—in ecstasy—
their slick, dark faces,
their thin, wiry arms,
who must begin to look
like angels!
Why does this trembling
pull us?
A: Beneath the surface we are one.
B: Amazing! I did not think that they could speak this tongue.
]]> 2022-02-01 13:27:27 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2023295003 The Narrators and Purpose in the Poem 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028496006 Although the three kids at the station are the main focus of the poem, the narrator is Derricotte herself, as there is no specified narrator in the poem. 

From the description of the passersby being astonished by their performance and the approval, the narrator is conveying the message that all of us have the same potential of talents, regardless of our race and ethnicity, as Derricotte uses the line "beneath the surface, we are one" to specify this lesson.]]> 2022-02-03 22:42:33 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028496006 Setting and Plot of the Poem 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028575738 The poem is set in a location called "Penn Station". which is presumably set in the 1920s-1930s. The narrator describes the poem with three kids playing instruments on the side of the station to drum up attention. The audience that passes by the boys is all seemingly give approval to their performance.]]> 2022-02-04 00:17:52 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028575738 The Poem's Central Idea 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028594287 The writing of the audience's reaction of the boys playing their instruments at the station states the idea of all of us being at the same level of talent and capability, despite our race and our ideals.]]> 2022-02-04 00:35:41 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028594287 Why I Chose This Poem 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028631728 The reason I chose this poem is for the unity that is brought between the three black kids and the audience, in which the audience is portrayed to be society, from passersby throwing money to workers with impressed expressions.

Most poems that revolve around race usually emphasize on how races are treated unequally and focus on the hatred that certain groups receive. Here, Derricotte implements the opposite and tries to bring black and white races together, by sharing the message of how all races can do the same thing and have the same talent.]]> 2022-02-04 01:13:24 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028631728 Tone of the Poem 2410963 https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028643420 The tones of the poem can be described as peaceful, settling, and unifying.

These tones are achieved as the narrator describes the boys to be in the "most popular act", and with the information that these boys have instruments, they are assumed to be playing music at the station.

The unifying tone of the poem as the narrator proceeds to describe the groups of audience that pass by the boys, showing signs of interest, astonishment (as the poem describes one of the audience members sitting in front of the boys in "ecstasy").

 Derricotte builds onto this unifying tone further by stating that we are one despite our race/skin at the end of the poem.]]> 2022-02-04 01:24:37 UTC https://padlet.com/2410963/xofn0dhjph44tiz/wish/2028643420