I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard writers say “I could do that” when it comes to writing poetry. No, you can’t. Writing poetry is hard. It takes a special talent to write a collection of poetry that is concise while having a central thematic approach and at the same time making it interesting.
Kamryn Whitfield, a young local, has done just that with her first book, “Turn Off the Dark: The Colours of a Black Experience,” which is available on Amazon and at local bookstores.
Whitfield, who is 23, has created a collection of 50 poetry pieces that are truly remarkable and reminiscent of the work of Ntozake Shange, Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou when they were writing on the precipice of greatness.
“It feels like I have been preparing for this moment my whole life having grown up in a family of creatives.” Whitfield, a Waverly High School graduate now attending Lansing Community College to earn a degree in dietetics, said. Her parents, Brian and Kimberly Whitfield, have had a tremendous influence on her life. Her dad’s murals can be seen across Lansing, most notably at the new Meijer Capital City Market in downtown Lansing and at the Allen Neighborhood Center. It’s also not a coincidence that her one grandmother Ruby Frazier wrote the book’s prologue and her other grandmother, Mattie, now deceased, opened Kilimanjaro Gift Shop, a black art store in downtown Lansing in the 1970s.
In essence, Whitfield has drawn on those generations to flesh out her book. Her father helped with the design of the book, including a knock-out cover showing the piercing eyes of his daughter framed against African-themed art.
The prologue sets out the parameters of the book: “…not all darkness is cloaked in the night hours. It can walk upright in the hearts of those who give breath to fears and hatred of black in mankind, culture and symbols.”
I hate to give this away because it would be better if you were surprised, but her first two poems, “Stranded” and “Afro Minimal,” are about her beautiful tresses, which she has spent a lifetime nurturing. She refers to her hair as “your mate,” and we will soon learn through subtle hints that she cuts them off.
In “Afro Minimal” she writes:
“I started writing in summer. I remember the day because it was the same day my mate died.
June 22, 2020 — a private funeral.”
Whitfield calls herself “a minimalist.” Cutting her hair “gave me a sense of freedom. Change is such a big thing for people and with faster lifestyles the worse it will get.”
Throughout the poems, the hair as a metaphor makes numerous appearances. One of her favorite poems in the book, “boy,” begins:
“Dreadlocks knotted to the scalp
Gold bead, gold undertone”
“It’s really about natural hair and acceptance,” Whitfield said.
In a larger sense, cutting her hair was about moving toward a more minimalist life, which she underscores in her poems.
The poetry reflects what she calls her own “before and after.”
“I used to be a consumerist. I liked to buy clothes, now my mindset is I’d rather spend more money on experiences,” she said.
Her poem “mannequin” speaks volumes to that philosophy:
“What’s the price it takes to be
a cool kid in America?
The latest trends are copy-paste
They break the necks of manikins
I’m worth more than a couple keyboard views,
that’s probably true.”
Then:
“How much I gotta pay to be the coolest kid on campus?
A closet full of made in Chinese technicolor canvases
Reflections of the coolest kid, turned modern-man enslaved…”
Whitfield’s poems about style are most enlightening since she is also a designer of street clothes, which are minimalist and one of a kind. Her line of clothing can be viewed at colorsquarevintage.com.
“All my designs are hand colored and hand sewn,” she said.
Whitfield will be showing and selling her clothing and new book today (July 6) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Allen Street Market and will be joined by her father, whose murals grace the exterior of the market.
Many of Whitfield’s poems are hard-hitting recalculations on how we think about race in America along with cautionary tales of fast food and cafeteria food. It’s quite a mixture and you will enjoy her broad expanse of topics just as she writes in the poem “Tofu:” “I liked ketchup until hot sauce changed my life.”
Whitfield’s poems may not make you change your life and how you live it, but they will definitely get you thinking.
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