Poet Melania Luisa Marte pointedly highlighted that “Afro-Latina” was not in the dictionary in her now viral poem titled “Afro-Latina.” The poem resonated with Black Latinas and others who embrace and adore the fullness of their identity. In a similar embrace of identity, the title of Melania’s debut poetry collection references plantains, a popular food staple in such places as parts of Africa and the Caribbean. In Plantains and Our Becoming, Marte proudly celebrates her womanhood and Dominican American heritage with compelling passion and eloquence. Enjoy the publisher’s description, my email chat with the poet and an excerpt of this beautiful and unflinching ode to the daughters of the diaspora.
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For me, poetry is more than just something you write; I believe it is something we also live. Poetry is a verb, and I found my life enriched by actively pursuing a life of poetry daily.
From publisher Tiny Reparations Books:
The collection is a three-part journey. Part One, “Daughter of Diaspora,” is rooted in lived experiences of immigration and identity within the U.S. Part Two, “A History of Plantains,” addresses the aftermath of colonialism on the island that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share, including issues of displacement and misplacement. Part Three, “On Becoming,” resides in a place of peace, where healing and rest feel tangible.
Rather than looking back, there is contentment in the present and a hopeful look toward the future.
“Afro-Latina” — which opens the collection — has earned over 9 million views since being featured by Instagram’s IG TV for National Poetry Month in 2019. Her poetic voice is rich and distinct, and Plantains and Our Becoming movingly explores the legacies of colonialism and racism while also highlighting the beauty — and joy — that comes from celebrating heritage and the self.
Read what Melania shared with Sisters:
Your dynamic debut poetry collection takes readers on such a powerful journey. When did you know that you were a poet?
I knew that I was a poet when I found myself writing poetry daily. I found myself driven to write all day and in between other jobs, and I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was driven to find a way to make this craft that I loved into a career. For me, poetry is more than just something you write; I believe it is something we also live. Poetry is a verb, and I found my life enriched by actively pursuing a life of poetry daily.
It is said that joy is resistance. What can Black women resist to experience joy?
Black women can resist societal stereotypes such as “aggressive,” “strong,” “magical.” Some of these labels that folks project onto us may seem well-meaning and innocent. But labels that don’t allow us to fully stand in our humanity are dangerous and prevent us from experiencing freedom and joy. We should resist labels or labor that does not allow us to show up as our most human and imperfectly perfect selves.
Do you think that we ever finish becoming?
I believe the journey to becoming is infinite and continues through those that come after us. I am no mathematician, but I always giggle when I think of becoming as something so grand, so complex, even the calculator loses count. So, I think of becoming as trying to find the square root of infinity only to learn it is also infinite. I am because my ancestors were. I cherish the process and the gift of life that has allowed me to be and move forward in becoming so that future generations can also become. We are all interconnected infinitely in our becoming and survival. Forevermore.
Sample poem:
call me by my new name
opulently abundant or
thick with sap of sun-stained
fruit or
money green and pregnant
call me mother of royal earth
call me cycle of ancestral survival
call me a cacti discovering church or
call me the p in pressure and pollination or
the eye in evolving and enticing
call me master of her own mind or
alive and dangerous
call me the beast that once and always was
call me that flame, that girl, that fertile flora or
call me by my new name
the biggest boldest vein on
the butt of a new leaf.
Excerpted from Plantains and Our Becoming, by Melania Luisa Marte
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