Can anyone kindly enlighten me what this poem is about? Even after reading it several times I am still unsure of its message. Is it about clashes of cultures or about being vegetarian? What is the meaning of “Up with tomatoes” or “Up the vegetables”? Why the repetition of “Up with tomatoes” in L5, L20, L39 and L58? What is the significant? And the title “When Negro Teeth Speak” what’s so special about the teeth? Why not simply "When Negro Speak?" I am totally lost. :(
When Negro Teeth Speak
Everyone thinks me a cannibal
But you know how people talk
Everyone sees my red gums but who
Has white ones
Up with tomatoes
Everyone says fewer tourists will come
Now
But you know
We aren’t in America and anyway everyone
Is broke
Everyone says it’s my fault and is afraid
But look
My teeth are white not red
I haven’t eaten anyone
People are wicked and say I gobble
The tourists roasted
Or perhaps grilled
Roasted or grilled I asked them
They fell silent and looked fearfully at my gums
Up with tomatoes
Everyone knows an arable country has agriculture
Up with vegetables
Everyone maintain that vegetables
Don’t nourish the grower well
And that I am well-grown for an undeveloped man
Miserable vermin living on tourists
Down with my teeth
Everyone suddenly surrounded me
Fettered
Thrown down prostrated
At the feet of justice
Cannibal or not cannibal
Speak up
Ah you think yourself clever
And try to look proud
Now we’ll see you get what’s coming to you
What is your last word
Poor condemned man
I shouted up with tomatoes
The men were cruel and the women curious you see
There was one in the peering circle
Who with her voice rattling like the lid of a casserole
Screamed
Yelped
Open him up
I’m sure papa is still inside
The knives being blunt
Which is understandable among vegetarians
Like the Westerners
They grabbed a Gillette blade
And patiently
Crisss
Crasss
Floccc
They opened my belly
A plantation of tomatoes was growing there
Irrigated by streams of palm wine
Up with tomatoes
By Ouologuem Yambo
16 comments:
It is a delightful poem, really, really wonderful. :)
Don't approach it with your rational mind - experience it with the other side of your brain. :)
The protagonist, a native African, has become a tourist attraction. Having heard about his people's ancient tradition of cannibalism, the tourists view him as a fascinating, dreadful animal, believing that he too could occasionally and secretly be eating humans.
Tomatoes are used in this poem for various different purposes. At one level, they represent his utterance of a defence - that's because teeth can be red not because they are stained with human blood, but because you just are tomatoes.
Tomatoes also represent the gulf between the poor natives and the rich Africans. The land/climate does not allow tomatoes to be grown, so only the rich can afford tomatoes, which have to be imported from somewhere. Thus tomatoes also symbolise material riches, luxuries etc.
Although the natives are poor, in material terms, they are as human as anyone else, they too have souls -
that is why when the protagonist is metaphorically murdered and they open up his tummy, they find: "A plantation of tomatoes was growing there
Irrigated by streams of palm wine
Up with tomatoes".
Backtracking a little, tomatoes, by virtue of the fact that the tourists get to eat them and the natives don't, symbolise the the distance, the gulf, the lack of understanding, between the two categories of people. When the protagonist is hauled up in a court of law, he cries out, "Up with tomatoes", which is a way of saying that he is innocent, merely misunderstood ....
If you're looking for a social message (but really it isn't necessary, for this poem to be read & loved), the poem could be pointing to how in Africa, blacks are often wrongly accused or suspected of crimes that they didn't commit ...
What Mr. Wang said. (I had no clue, really.)
I was prepared to give you my two cents'worth until I came across Mr. Wang's comment, so I'll just say, I agree. :D
I got the impression that there's the reference to the old tradition of slave trade dealings of native africans in the title. During those days, slave traders judge the "quality" of their slaves by the teeth, pretty much like how a vet will examine the health of an animal by the looks of their teeth.
and in those days, an African's word is worthless against the "white man's word" - the book To Kill A Mockingbird is another great piece that highlights this class difference...
Thanks Mr Wang, it all makes sense now. :)
Hello fred not to worry. That's why there can only be one Mr Wang. Heehee.
Hello free spirit, glad to see you here again.
Not to worry, your two cents' worth are always most welcome. :)
Good point Kitty! :)
I'll wait for Mr. Wang from now on. Then, I'll just agree with him and look smart.
Hello there. Stumbled upon this blog from a blog search on Google for poetry in Singapore and have checked out some of the links on your blogroll.
I'm happy to know that there are people out there who take poetry seriously. Thanks for spreading the words! :)
Hello Informalist,
Thanks for stopping by. We all play a part in promoting poetry in Singapore. I do what I can. :)
I enjoy the exposure to different types of poetry from reading blogs. I often become lost in reading at the library or bookstores, so an excerpt like this is a delight! Thank you
Often "up with(something)" is a slang use for cheering something or a certain cause on in a postive fashion, so white gums or gums of any color should be accepted without the need for staining by tomatoes. I'm reminded of a song "Up with People" but I'm not familiar with the organization other than I think it is totally for world harmony among all people. (check sources though- I'm no authority.)
I think the repetition of "up with tomatoes" refers to a variety of reason. Someone else touched on this and I agree. Slavery, which makes me shudder and cringe, did judge those by their health among other reasons. I'm sure teeth condition was a factor. ALso, I don't know how often African American people were allowed to eat foods such as tomatoes. And I, too, think of blood: the instant connection with red from gums to the bloodshed by being enslaved unjustly: the absolute intolerable inhumanity of such a practice.
I'm sure I'm missing more intrepretation. I've not read this poem nor its author.
Meant to add that Mr. Wang said it most eloquently!
thanks for posting this poem and to those who send their feedback regarding the meaning of the poem. This blog really did helped me in creating my report. Again, thanks guys. :))
"They grabbed a Gillette blade"
why the author used the brand Gillete blade?
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