44 Matthews

"political," and revealing the troubled nature of those very boundaries.

Lines from "Vive Noir" and "Speak Truth" introduce later sections of the
book and underscore its exploration of a collective consciousness, nation-
hood, and strength. "Uhuru," "Whisper Together Brethren," and "The
Great Civil Rights Law (A.D. 1964) occupy a blatantly political sphere that
subordinates the individual to the collective- an act typified by the use of
a lower-case i . For example, the speaker of "The Great Civil Rights Law"
asserts "i / will not sit / in Grateful meetings," signifying not an individual
self, but a body of folk who have rejected the false promises of a govern-
ment whose history is riddled with more of the same (66). Similarly, the "i"
of "Vive Noir" is a lower-case i - implying a plurality versus a singular sub-
jective voice- a collective self that will "rise / en masse" and "spread out /
over America" (70). The personae in these poems are no longer individual
figures, or Is, but instead they are expressions of collectivity working
towards Black liberation and "BLACK ONENESS." Whereas folk fail to act
in "early in the morning," in "Uhuru," they stand "fingers / flamed inter-
clenched / blood to blood" (87). Here, individuals are one, demonstrated
through words like "interclenched," "shared," and "black unison." Thi
Black oneness is further illustrated by the lines, "your eye warm to mind
shared / presentpast and ancient source" ("Uhuru" 87). The "eyes," or Is,
see self in other and are united in body, time, and heritage. This poem and
others demand that neither the individual nor the collective assume prima-
cy, but that both are considered necessary for renewal.

Evans's Formal Trespass

Evans's broad formal and linguistic mastery also demonstrates her defi-
ant poetics and politics. I Am A Black Woman both conforms to and chal-
lenges the Black Aesthetic's formal prescriptions, therein making it difficult
to pin down. Like other proponents of the Black Aesthetic, Evans work
"endorse[s] a creative Family-Nation which dismisses an alien tradition and
re-thinks forms, systems and methodologies" (Evans, "Blackness" 21). This
"alien tradition" includes Western forms, genres, and aesthetic criteria that
do not reflect Black experiences; or, as Don L. Lee puts it, "Faulkner, dick,
jane, and other perpetrators of evil" (qt. Neal 273). Her poems reflect the
Black Arts Movement's belief that "standing up on platforms and cussing
in public" situates poets among "the people" (Brown 99), and that forceful
"oratory, the dozens, the rap, the signifying, and the oral folk tale"
(Henderson, Understanding 31) are most explosive weapons in the battle for
self-definition. Preachment, rhythm, and blues traditions too are acceptable
if they facilitate "becomingness." I Am A Black Woman "re-thinks" these tra
ditions and embraces revolutionary forms in turn.
For instance, Evans's work invokes spiritual traditions of Black people,
including African chant/ song, Muslim praise lyrics, and the Black Christian
church's preachment to assert a distinct formal heritage. "Remembered