Tag Archives: Claudia Rankine

Claudia Rankine and Space in Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Liver

Reading Rankine’s unique work, I was struck by her frequent references to different prescription drugs, the television and the liver. As I read on, I felt that this was more of an Autobiography of America from a certain perspective in … Continue reading

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Rankine’s Lyric Voice and Form

Considering Rankine’s obsession over understanding loss and ultimately death, I feel that the lyric is the perfect approach to trying to reify those abstract and complex ideas.  Her background as a poet allows her this liminal space between narrative and … Continue reading

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Don’t Kill My Embodiment

Don’t Let Me Be Lonely seems to be the wrong title for Claudia Rankine’s lyric about American life. I would suggest something more along the lines of Don’t Die on Me. Or, if that’s too cliche, perhaps something more subtle … Continue reading

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The Importance of Paratextual Information in Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely

Smith and Watson, the co-writers of the riveting text Reading Autobiography, define paratext as “the framing produced by their (a books) publication, reception, and circulation” (99).  “Cover designs, the author’s name, the dedication, titles, prefaces, introductions, chapter breaks, and endnotes” … Continue reading

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Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin With Us

In Reading Autobiography, the section on embodiment includes a description of a sociopolitical body. Smith and Watson define this sociopolitical body as “a set of cultural attitudes and discourses encoding the public meanings of bodies that have for centuries underwritten … Continue reading

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