"Passing" Poetry

Olivia Williams ENG 435 Dr. Milne 4 May 2021 Final: Poetry Collection on Passing The University of Indianapolis

Poems based on the novel Passing by Nella Larsen

created by Olivia Williams

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Contents I.

Irene Redfield ● Cake........................................................................................... #5 ● Mistake...................................................................................... #6

II.

Clare Kendry ● Dreams...................................................................................... #8 ● Jumped? Or Pushed? Either Way It’s a Fall............................. #9

III.

Brian Redfield ● Passing..................................................................................... #11

IV.

John Bellew ● Darker...................................................................................... #13

Notes…………………………………………………………………………………………… # 15 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….. # 16 1920s Lingo…………………………………………………………….…………………… #17

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I. Irene Redfield

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“The trouble with Clare was, not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folks as well.”

- Irene Redfield

Cake i just wanted to sit here, and sit alone why? why do you keep staring? you stare, you point, and poke it simply isn’t polite! a woman like you, your status, your kind so annoying, yet so incredibly captivating why? why can’t i take my eyes off of you? you made the trouble to annoy me and now you come waltzing over to my table when i simply wanted some iced tea on this miserably hot, humid day. wait? who? my word! Clare?!

Clare Kendry… now that one is a babe of true beauty she really is the bee’s knees i remember her well now, i can’t believe i’d have forgotten her though, i’v enjoyed this little meeting i wish she’d just close her head! a dame with dough and yet she still isn’t satisfied. ontop of all that she passes and has glad rags. i want to leave and never see her again. yet… something, a force pulls me in, i want to see her again.

I must.

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“She isn’t stupid. She’s intelligent enough in a purely feminine way.

Eighteenth-century France would have been a marvellous setting for her, or the old South if she hadn’t made the mistake of being born a Negro.”

- Passing Mistake she croaked cut down bumped off she fell or did she - did i ... ? i didn’t bop her! the fuzz came to the party and everyone is’ outside looking at her body on the ground below this - this just gotta be a party gone wrong she’s down there on the pavement lifeless everything is so blurry, so confused what happened? did i dip the bill? too much giggle juice? i didn’t even want to go to this party.

Clare, she’s down there when she was up here with me. she was talkin’, she was standin’, livin’ but now… i didn’t - i couldn’t- it wasn’t me i love Clare she - we were now... she’s a stiff i can’t think, i can’t see, what happened?! i gotta go… i have to…

leave.

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II. Clare Kendry

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“I feel like the oldest person in the world with the longest stretch of life before me.”

-Clare Kendry Dreams I’m passing so I’m safe I want a man with a nice car and all the other boys to chase me To live a life of fortune with swanky places, clothes and things I want to tip a few and party, I want to know everyone, be loved by many Oh what I’d do to have those earrings from the store downtown, I must tell John I want the dough and I want all the fun and entertaining things To have tea with Irene and the girls, to laugh, to spill the rumble, and gossip what fun!

I want to make sure I pass I want to go to the big towns and travel with John, I want ritzy furniture, and a beautiful home for here and then another there.

Live forever and have a perfect life…

I want to leave my past, my family, my race - behind-

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“She laughed and the ringing bells in her laugh had a hard metallic sound.”

-

Irene Redfield

Jump? Or Pushed? Either Way It’s a Fall.

It’s all over now.

Thank god for that.

Did I jump or fall you ask?

I don’t even know anymore.

I do know that anything is better than this, that.

It’s all over now.

Whether I jumped Or she pushed me It doesn’t matter.

I just know that now, I’m finally free from it all.

No more passing, pretending I don’t have to act This, this is the first time I’ve felt true peace.

Falling, flying, and finally floating.

Now, right before the end…

This is the first time I’ve finally felt free.

I’m finally free.

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III. Brian Redfield

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“Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race. She only belonged to it.”

- Passing Passing I am proud.

As a Black doctor I take pride in the great things I’ve accomplished.

All the trials, tribulations, and the things I’ve had to put up with.

People like her, that is the reason why we are still not seen as equal.

Clare…

Why? Why, would you want to pass as white? Where is your pride?

You are just as bad as the whites, if not worse.

Makin’ things this way for the rest of us. It is shameful what you do.

You hide. You lie. You can fool them but you can’t fool me, nor can you fool God. He knows, as well as I, what you do and just because you can hide and lie to your husband doesn’t mean that you should.

You are Black as me but it doesn’t show, is it because of all the years you’ve been claiming to be one of them?

Passing You care nothing for race because you are able to pass. It’s shameful.

Yet, here you are takin’ pride.

It makes me wonder…

What would you do if you couldn't?

Would you simply justcry?

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IV. John Bellew

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“Well, you see, it’s like this. When we were first married, she was as white as as- well as white as a lily. But I declare she’s gettin’ darker and darker. I tell her if she don’t look out, she’ll wake up one of these days and find she’s turned into a [the n-word].”

- John Bellew

Darker They give me the creeps. The black scrimy devils.

— What difference would it make if, after all these years, you were to find out that I was one or two percent coloured? — Nothing like that with me. Clare can get as black as she pleases but I do draw the line at that. No [the n-word] in my family. Never have been and never will be.

I don’t dislike them, I hate them.

Clare does too.

Always robbing and killing people… and worse.

Funny that some think they can pass, well I am too smart to be fooled by them.

I’d be able to see right through it. If you’re black then you’re a devil.

You could never be white. The world would be better without ‘em.

Society would be in better shape. Just my wife and our daughter. No devils in our home.

Clare could have her friends over to tea and do whatever ladies do when they have tea.

Life without the devils would be so much cleaner and happier for the rest of us.

Ain’t no devils anymore, especially not in my family.

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Notes 1. “Cake” is from Irene Redfield’s character's voice. It narrates her feelings and pull towards Clare Kendry from the beginning scene in the novel. It also hints at the possible theme of homosexuality between Clare and Irene as well as Clare being able to pass as white.

2. “Mistake” is a poem that is from Irene Redfield’s character’s voice and this specific piece delves into the moment at the end of the novel where Clare is dead and Irene doesn’t remember what happened.

3. “Dreams” is from Clare Kendry’s character’s voice. It narrates the ideals and big dreams that she had. How she moved from nothing and away from her home and family to being able to pass as white and living in Chicago.

4. “Jump? Or Pushed? Either Way It’s a Fall.” is a poem from Clare Kendry’s character’s voice and this piece focuses on her death.

5. “Passing” is a poem written from Brian Redfield’s character’s voice. The poem showcases his emotions and beliefs focused on the idea of passing but he focuses on Clare specifically.

6. “Darker” is a poem that captures John Bellew’s ideals and wishes of what society should be like. It in no way represents my beliefs or ideals, it simply is a poem meant to capture John Bellew’s character specifically in the moment where he meets Clare, Irene, and Gertrude for tea at the beginning of the novel.

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Acknowledgement All poems were written with that specific character in mind and I also included popular lingo and slang used in the 1920s time period to make the poems more immersive and credible to the character and time.

This collection is an original creation and I designed the front and back cover by using the website canva. I made sections in the collection to separate the characters and their poems easily for readers. I also tried to include somewhat realistic pictures of each character and chose themes and topics for the ‘characters’ to write about for their poem(s) that they found important in Larsen’s novel.

I’d like to thank Dr. Leah Milne for introducing me to the novel Passing by Nella Larsen and for creating this opportunity for me to create this project.

Reference material for this project is attributed to….

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Nella Larsen’s novel Passing

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https://www.scarymommy.com/1920s-slang/

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1920s Lingo: ● Babe: a woman ● Bee’s Knees: an extraordinary person, place, thing ● Bop: to kill ● Bumped off: killed ● Close your head: shut your mouth ● Croak: to die ● Cut down: killed ● Dip the bill: have a drink ● Dough: money ● Fuzz: police ● Giggle Juice: alcohol ● Glad Rags: beautiful, fancy clothing ● Rumble: the news ● Spill: talk, inform ● Stiff: a corpse ● Swanky: ritzy

● Passing: to be able to pass as white instead of black or a person of color in a white dominated society

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