An American Sunrise

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2017

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Inverted Acrostic Form

The acrostic form is a poem that spells a message with the beginning letter of each line. However, in this poem, Harjo takes that concept and inverts it by designating the final word of each line in a way that creates a rewritten version of Gwendolyn Brooks’s famous poem “We Real Cool.” The poem, in its entirety, reads as follows:

“We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon.”

The majority of Brooks’s words can also be found in other parts of Harjo’s poem (not only in the ending of lines), creating a dialogue between the two. For more on this, see the Golden Shovel entry.

Anaphora

Although this poem doesn’t utilize a full anaphoric form (i.e., the repetition at the beginning of every line isn’t consistent), there is definite repetition of the word “we” to start—and to end—many of the lines in this poem. This recycling of the word to begin sentences and to end lines helps to emphasize the shared communal aspect that is integral to this poem: we. The repetition of this word also sets up the powerful twist in the final line, in which the “we” becomes “They die / soon.” This inversion from the positive fabric of the communal (“we”) becomes the force that will destroy the negative other, or “they” (Lines 14-15).

Golden Shovel Form

In addition to utilizing the acrostic form, Harjo’s “An American Sunrise” is an example of the poetic form known as the golden shovel. Invented by award-winning poet Terrance Hayes as an homage to Gwendolyn Brooks, the golden shovel goes beyond acrostic poetry by taking a line (or more) from a poem and using each word from the borrowed line at the end of each new line. Hayes considers the form not only an homage but a way to add the element of play into poetry. Brooks once famously said that “Words can do wonderful things. They pound, purr. They can urge, they can wheedle, whip, whine. They can sing, sass, singe” (Umansky, Leah. “Find a Headline, Write a Poem.” The New York Times. 27 March 2021). Hayes mirrored Brooks’s own take on play within poetry by inventing the form. Harjo’s poem uses a large portion of “We Real Cool,” including the following lines’ words as end words for each line of her poem:

[…] We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon (Lines 3-8).

The golden shovel form is a playful yet meaningful literary device. It allows poets to pay homage to other poets and poetic works. The form also highlights the importance of poetry as a communal, cultural marker. When poets borrow and amplify other poets by use of the golden shovel, they help bring people and cultures and communities closer together.