[Peace-discuss] re: used to say

[Stuart Levy]

On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 06:45:32AM -0500, John W. wrote:
> At 06:29 AM 3/31/2008, E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
>
>> It's poetry, and poetry, as art, is often evocative.  Poetry as art uses 
>> all sorts of freedoms to express and evoke.
>>
>> imho, "used to say" in the mildly colloquial sense here indicates long 
>> time employment in a sense of homespun wisdom and familarity in use, as in 
>> "what mama/grandma used to say".
>>
>> I really like this poem because for me expresses/evokes the idea that 
>> every stranger is a co-sourjner,  potentially a un-met friend, with the 
>> same needs for fellowship, food, shelter as me, and the same appreciation 
>> for a hospitable understanding of his human condition as I have.  I also 
>> like the idea that true security comes from inside one's self. 'I am 
>> comfortable with my existence, so I can risk loving my fellow human 
>> being'.
>
>
> Cool.  I'm sure most of us agree with your sentiments, your interpretation 
> of the poem.  So why not change it to, "The Arabs say..." or "Muslims 
> say..." or "The Koran says..." ?
>

Well, mainly because we didn't write it -- Naomi Shihab Nye did.

The "used to say" makes more sense in the full context of the
poem -- the next line after the [...] is, "Let's go back to that",
and sets a lovely scene.  A web search for "Red Brocade" turns it up.

>>> The Arabs used to say,
>>> When a stranger appears at your door,
>>> feed him for three days
>>> before asking who he is,
>>> where he's come from,
>>> where he's headed.
>>> That way, he'll have strength
>>> enough to answer.
>>> Or, by then you'll be such good friends
>>> you don't care.
>>
>>
>>
>> And of course there is the added surprise that it is coming from the 
>> A-rabs, who are ain't nothin' like us  For some, Arab brings up images of 
>> "islamofascism".
>>
>> (which is, of course, fundamentally inferior to Amerofascism, which is 
>> good for you and that the whole world seems to need.)
>>
>> Message: 5
>> Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:22:58 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] an anti-bias poster for the CUMTD buses?
>>    P S
>> To: Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
>> Cc: peace-discuss at anti-war.net, Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu>
>> Message-ID: <759007.15656.qm at web44912.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>> If y're all taken w/ the poem, maybe the poet would permit deletion of 
>> "used" for this purpose (btw, WHY did she say, "used to say"... Do they no 
>> longer say it???)
>>   --Jenifer
>>
>> Stuart Levy <slevy at ncsa.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>>  On Sun, Mar 30, 2008 at 05:18:06PM -0700, Jenifer Cartwright wrote:
>> > > "The Arabs USED to say"... and what do they say NOW? And I know it's 
>> metaphor
>> > > and that we don't REALLY advocate feeding anyone for three days w/o 
>> getting
>> > > some background info..
>
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