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Dis Poem

Mutabaruka

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Jemal Countess/WireImage/Getty Images

Mutabaruka was born Allan Hope in 1952 in Jamaica, where he went on to attend Kingston Technical High School. Raised Catholic, he converted to Rastafarianism after becoming involved with the Black Awareness movements of the 1970s. He began writing poetry in the 1970s under the name Allan Mutabaruka, then under the single name, which comes from the Rwandan language and translates as “one who is always victorious.” Currently, he lives in Jamaica with his wife and children and frequently travels internationally as a performer and lecturer.

KEY CONTEXT Mutabaruka is a practitioner of dub poetry, a performance genre that began in the Caribbean, incorporating spoken word with reggae music. Unlike the spontaneity and improvisation that characterizes much performance poetry, dub poetry is written ahead of time, usually with a band accompaniment. The two most famous dub poets, Mutabaruka and Linton Kwesi Johnson, typify the political and social consciousness of this genre that carries an overt message, usually controversial, protesting social injustice. In his most recent collection, First Poems/Next Poems (2005), Mutabaruka writes that his poems are intended “to show [readers] the problems that face us in the world and then motivate you to find solutions.” Mutabaruka performed “Dis Poem,” his most widely known work, as part of Def Poetry Jam, a spoken word poetry television series.

dis poem.

shall speak of the wretched sea

that washed ships to these shores

of mothers crying for their young

5 swallowed up by the sea

dis poem shall say nothin new

dis poem shall speak of time

time unlimited

time undefined

10 dis poem shall call names

names like

lumumba

kenyatta

nkrumah

15 hannibal

akenaton

malcolm

garvey

haile selassie1

20 dis poem is vex

about apartheid

racism

fascism

the klu klux klan

25 riots in brixton2

atlanta

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jim jones3

dis poem is revoltin against

first world

30 second world

third world

division

manmade decision

dis poem is like all the rest

35 dis poem will not be amongst great literary works

will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts

will not be quoted by politicians

nor men of religion

dis poem is knives . . . bombs . . . guns . . .

40 blazing for freedom

yes dis poem is a drum

ashanti

mau mau

ibo

45 yoruba4

niahbingi5 warriors

uhuru . . . uhuru6

namibia uhuru

uhuru

50 soweto7

uhuru

afrika!

dis poem will not change things

dis poem needs to be changed

55 dis poem is a rebirth of a people

arizin awakin understandin

dis poem speak is speakin have spoken

dis poem shall continue even when poets have stopped writin

dis poem shall survive u me it shall linger in history

60 in your mind

in time forever

dis poem is time only time will tell

dis poem is still not written

dis poem has no poet

65 dis poem is just a part of the story

his-story her-story our-story the story still untold

dis poem is now ringin talkin irritatin

makin u want to stop it

but dis poem will not stop

70 dis poem is long cannot be short

dis poem cannot be tamed cannot be blamed

the story is still not told about dis poem

dis poem is old new

dis poem was copied from the bible your prayer book

75 playboy magazine the n.y. times readers digest

the c.i.a. files the k.g.b. files

dis poem is no secret

dis poem shall be called boring stupid senseless

dis poem is watchin u tryin to make sense from dis poem

80 dis poem is messin up your brains

makin u want to stop listenin to dis poem

but u shall not stop listenin to dis poem

u need to know what will be said next in dis poem

dis poem shall disappoint u

85 because

dis poem is to be continued in your mind in your mind

in your mind your mind

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Barbara Kruger, Untitled (We will no longer be seen and not heard), 1985. Lithograph on paper, Tate Gallery, London.
Pair several of these images with lines from Mutabaruka’s poem. Think about how the image does more than just illustrate the point being made: consider how the image extends or deepens the point.
© Barbara Kruger, Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. Photo: Tate Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY

Understanding and Interpreting

  1. What historical events does the poem allude to in the lines, “the wretched sea / that washed ships to these shores” (ll. 2–3)?

  2. The speaker asserts that “dis poem” “will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts” nor “quoted by politicians / nor men of religion” (ll. 36–38). What is it about the poem that he believes will not appeal to these figures of authority? If that is the case, then, to whom will the poem appeal?

  3. What does the speaker mean when he says “dis poem has no poet” (l. 64)?

  4. What kind of authority—or resistance—does the speaker anticipate when he predicts that readers of the poem will “makin u want to stop it” even though “dis poem will not stop” (ll. 68–69)?

  5. How and why does the speaker believe “dis poem is to be continued in your mind” (l. 86)?

  6. What is Mutabaruka’s overall intention in “Dis Poem”? What is the power of poetry that he invokes as the speaker?

Analyzing Language, Style, and Structure

  1. Who do you think is the audience Mutabaruka intends for this poem? Given the performance aspect, is he only addressing like-minded people or does he appeal to others outside that circle?

  2. To what extent does the use of vernacular enhance the poem only when it is performed? You might want to view a performance online to provide support for your response.

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  3. What effect(s) does Mutabaruka achieve by personifying “dis poem”?

  4. Identify several paradoxes in “Dis Poem.” What do you think is the author’s purpose for including so many?

  5. The tone in “Dis Poem” shifts in different sections. Identify at least two sections with different tones. How do you describe the overall tone?

  6. “Dis Poem” develops as an argument. What is the thesis or primary claim? What evidence does Mutabaruka provide to support it?

Connecting, Arguing, and Extending

  1. Research one of the “names” Mutabaruka lists in lines 12–19 and explain why that person is a name that “dis poem shall call.”

  2. To what extent do you find “Dis Poem” an effective argument? Respond in terms of the written text, the performed text, or a combination.

  3. Why is “dis poem [. . .] a drum” (l. 41)? What is the cultural reference implicit in this metaphor? Research the significance of drumming in Afro-Caribbean cultures in terms of communication.

  4. Do some research into the history and philosophy of dub poetry. Who are its major artists? Is it largely a protest movement? Present your findings in a multimedia format that includes performances.

  5. Write a poem intended to get under the skin of its audience in a way that continues “ringin talkin irritatin” (l. 67) people, that is, a poem that calls its readers to action. Use a vernacular or English dialect in some parts or throughout the poem. Present your poem either as a written or performed text.