Alaina Losito
M. NourbeSe Philip’s book Zong! recounts, through the use of poetry, the horrific massacre that occurred on a slave ship in November 1781. Philip uses the repetition and placement of certain words and phrases in order to highlight the importance of said words or phrases. The placement of the words on the page may also allow for the reader to read the text slowly in order to contemplate the significance of each word in relation to the historical context of the poem. This poem can be relevant to current times as well. The formatting and repetition of specific words speak to issues in today’s society of police brutality which brought rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Luxury of a Breath
The first 20 pages of Zong! are included in the chapter “Os”. In the back of the book there is a glossary of words and phrases overheard on board the Zong! In the glossary the word “os” translates to “bone” in Latin (Philip 184). Bones can be associated with images of skeletons and death. This could signify the deaths of the 150 slaves that died on this ship. One thing that is tactful in reading this poem is to read it aloud. In Zong! #1 there is the breaking up of words and letters. These are scattered throughout the page and may not make sense at first glance but when read aloud can be coherent to the reader. If read aloud, this page could sound like someone drowning, or someone who has been deprived of water for so long that their throat becomes dry and they can barely even speak. This usage of water could show the suffering that these slaves endured. The fact that this is the very first page makes it so that the reader is drawn in. On the bottom of the page it says “Masuz Zuwena Ogunsheye Ziyad Ogwambi Keturah.” These are not listed in the glossary which could suggest that these are names of several of the slaves that were murdered in the massacre. This opening scene can be related to the death of George Floyd. While reading this opening page it seems like the speaker is gasping for air and the struggle for words seems terribly difficult. This can be seen in the breakage and scattering of the words on the page. In the incident of George Flyod, the police officer was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while George Floyd was suffocating and screaming “I can’t breathe”. The opening page parallels this disturbing murder of George Floyd because both show the painful struggle to survive in a situation where another person has complete control over their lives.
The Law is Never in Favor of the Oppressed.
In this section of the book it also emphasizes the fact that the fate of these slaves was in the hands of the white people on board the ship. These slaves were never in control of their own lives. In Zong! #11 there is an emphasis on the law. On this page there is a significant blank space in between the words “is”, “not”, “does”, “not”, etc. This blank space could be related to the message of the words on the page. There can be so many “what if” questions about history. Questions such as “what if slavery never existed” or “what if racism never existed”. The law is a social construction and so is racism. Both, together, result in the mistreatment and death of so many people in the black community. Zong! #11 could parallel that of the case of Breonna Taylor. She was murdered in her own home by the police when they had no reason to go in her home in the first place. In this instance, Breonna Taylor’s case went to court and lost. All of the evidence needed to prove that the police were guilty was there. Yet, the law is almost always against those of the oppressed instead of the oppressors. This can be similar to that of this page in the book because in this page the speaker says, “suppose the law not / -a crime / suppose the law a loss / suppose the law / suppose” (Philip 20). This is drawing attention to the fact that the law creates who is inferior and who is superior. For example, the law used to state that a white person could own another human being as their own property. This allowed for these slaves to be taken from their own country in the first place. The law also created the insurance on these slaves because they were property. All of these laws based on racism added up to the murder of these 150 slaves. The law was not in these slaves favor just as the law was not in Breonna Taylor’s favor. The law chooses, even before a crime is made, who is innocent and who is guilty.
Discussion Questions:
- Are there any other instances in this section of the reading that remind you of other current events?
- Do you think Philips wants each of us to read each page in the same way? Or do you think that the placement of the words/phrases in this book were meant to allow for each of the readers to create their own understanding of the page in relation to the historical context?
- If you did not know what this poem was about (or the name of the poem), what would you think it was about based on the word choices and phrases that Philips emphasizes/draws the reader’s attention to?
Philip, M. NourbeSe. Zong! Wesleyan University Press, 2008.
Hello there Alaina, awesome job on your blog post today. Observing some of the points you made in your post, one specific element that I thought was the most intriguing was that you said the splitting of the words in the book was meant for the reader to take more time in deciding the meaning of the individual words. I did not expect this way of thinking, rather I believed at first that the spacing was mainly just an homage to the original documents that the author M. NourbeSe Philip drew their words from. In response to your second question of how the author wants us to read the piece, I think that Philip intended for the reader to create their own exact meaning from the same words. One reason why I believe this is that Philip voices that, “I fight the desire to impose meaning on the words – it is so instinctive, this need to impose meaning” (194). In Philip refraining from imparting their own thoughts about the text, this implies that they wish for the audience to draw their own conclusions. Also, I agree with your earlier statement that the placement of the words in the book definitely enables the reader to take more time in giving context to the disjointed words.
Hey Alaina, I really enjoyed reading your post! It was so interesting how you made the connection between the story told in the book and the current events happing in the U.S today. Regarding your second question I feel as though Philips does not expect us to read each page the same and she understands that the meaning of the words can be interpreted your own way because of the unique word structure used in the text. For example, when explaining her writing process she says, “The not-telling of this particular story is in the fragmentation and mutilation of the text, forcing the eye to track across the page in an attempt to wrest meaning from words gone astray” (Philip 198). In this Philip is pointing out that the breaking up of the text makes your eyes go back and forth over the page trying to grasp and understand the meaning of these fragmented words. I don’t think she expects us to read each word the same because she is pointing out how she knows each person will be looking for their own meaning behind the words. I feel like even though reading this text can be confusing the meaning of the words can be self-interpreted which can be helpful.
Hi Alaina, great job on your post! I like how you pointed out specific words that are used in the book and their meaning. I definitely feel like it has helped me understand the book more. The way this book is written is very unique. I feel like the words and letters being scattered across the pages help give the overall message that this is something important and hard to talk about. I think there are other instances in this section of the reading that remind me of other current events. The book Zong states, “Suppose the law not – a crime Suppose the law a loss.” (Philip 11). I feel like these two lines show how harsh the law can be and how it can result in loss. When I read this part of the book it made me think about the incident that happened the other day with the Lieutenant who got pulled over by the cops for a traffic violation. That stop resulted in him being killed by the police. It’s sad the fact that the law is there to “protect”, but results in the loss of someone’s life. This relates to what Philips stated because now the law gives certain people an advantage over people of color. The law isn’t fair at all.
Hi Alaina, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I liked that you used some examples from today in the post as well. Even today, there have been people struggling, in the same sense that the slaves that were killed had to struggle. Like your example of George Floyd, he was suffocating, and showed no mercy. In regards to the second question, I believe that Philip has the words in certain placements in order to create individual understandings to the context behind the page. This book was written about a slave ship massacre, so certain things in the book are able to help the readers understand how awful what happened was. “Water day” (Philip 11). This could be interpreted that they were not able to receive water everyday, and were forced to struggle without a basic human need for life. These people were treated so terribly just for being who they are.
Alaina! Great job on the blog post for today! I find your third discussion question very intriguing. If I did not know what this book of poems was about, I would think it is about pilgrimage. We see this in the words she uses such as water, sustenance, one day, and voyage. These specific words show that the people could be on a voyage towards a new land, maybe America. It could have been talking about the Mayflower pilgrimage. However, then, the author uses the word negroes. The use of this word switches my thoughts immediately to the slave trade ships. It is still a pilgrimage, but a very different circumstance. My thoughts are then clarified in Zong! #9 when the author says, “slaves to the order in destroyed… the property in subject” (Philip 17). This quote shows that African men, women, and children’s lives were being destroyed as they were sold as property to others. At first, in the first few poems, it sounded like the author was talking about the Mayflower pilgrimage. However, as the poems continued my view quickly changed to the slave trade ships.
Hi Alaina, great post!
Poetry is a very interesting art form because there are so many different ways to write and present a poem. I would say that Philip’s intentions were for her poems to be read differently. All poetry is meant to be ready differently, some you read to the line breaks, to the stanza, to the punctuations, to the end of the thought, etc. and her poetry is no different. I also think that she wrote these poems in a way that is difficult to take in but is meant to be read the same way across her audience. The first poem for example is written like: “W W W W a Wa/W a wa wat….” while it’s hard to piece the full words together I think most readers could agree that this is supposed to be someone stuttering and struggling to get their words out (Philip 3). Even further, when placed into the historical context all of this poetry is meant to be read in it feels like someone trying to speak as they struggle not to drown. These letters and partial words are being spat out in gasps when the speaker’s head is briefly above water. Because of the historical context I think Philip wants us all to read the poems the same way so we can all be grounded in the facts of history no matter how dark they are.
Hi Alaina! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I thought your interpretations were really
interesting and I liked how you made connections to modern day events. In regards to your second question, I think that Philip wants us to read each page differently based on the structure of the page. I think this style of writing also leaves a lot of room for different interpretations amongst the readers. Philip writes, “I fight the desire to impose meaning on the words” (Philip, 194). I interpreted that as Philip saying that there could be more than one meaning for each of the poems depending on how you interpret it. For example, I interpreted Zong! #1 as someone being deprived of water for so long they could barely talk and didn’t even think that it could be someone drowning until after I read your blog post.
Hi Alaina! I really liked your blog post for today. I like how you connected Zong with the events of the Black Lives Matter movement and I also connected the two. To answer your second discussion question, I think Philip arranged the words on the page for the reader to create their own understanding of the page in relation to historical context. I like the way Philip did this because it is creative and it it does allow the reader to understand what is happening in the text. Poetry is definitely creative and abstract which always allow the reader to interpret the text in their own way, which is why I like the way Philip designed this book. The quote that stood out to me was in Zong #5 and it said “of suffered did not exist sustenance water & want” (12). This quote stood out to me because it made me think of the Black Lives Matter movement. I thought of it because the words “sustenance water” show that there is support behind the Black Live Matter movement.
Hi Alaina! I really loved how your blog post related to current events and how you brought attention to the importance of the words and their meanings. In this section of the reading I completely agree that phrases such as “for dying slaves” (Philip 8-9) and “slaves to the order in destroyed (Philip 17) relate to current events such as The Black Lives Matter movement. These phrases create a feeling of how African American men and women are treated as they are being destroyed and killed. Although these pages come off as a little confusing they show important messages. I also thought that how you brought in the idea of drowning was very creative and I did not think of that until I had read your blog post. I feel you brought a new way of thinking in this blog post.
Hey Alaina!! Amazing post, I feel like Zong! is one of the more difficult pieces to write about because there is just so much open-ended ideas to interpret and you did so flawlessly in this post! In regard to your 2nd discussion question, no I do not think they were meant to be read one way. There are so few words on the page but there is so much to do with them. For example on page 31, #18, the section with all of the “means” there are so many ways to use “means” in a sentence by simply changing where it is. “means truth, means overboard, means sufficient, means support” (Philip, 31) is how it is written but by simply changing even just one of the “means” it changes what it is saying. If they say sufficient means, means support, this could entail that having sufficient means, also means or results in support. So in this sense, yes any piece of art is up to interpretation from the reader/viewers.
Works Cited
Philip, M. NourbeSe. Zong! Wesleyan University Press, 2008.