WE Are The Problem.

Gentrification is in the now, it is a present tense issue that keeps on expanding. We, as the UC Merced community, are apart of gentrification. As this university was built over the indigenous peoples’ land, and is still expanding, this is a perfect example of gentrification. In ‘Triptych of the Adobe-Cotta Army‘, Antonio Lopez challenges the traditional borders of English poetry and the politics of gentrification by the use of imagery, tone, and the structure of the stanzas.

Just looking at the overall poem, Lopez creates a visual representation of the tall buildings used in gentrification. He does this by creating the building with the words of each stanza, by having different length of each stanza, how the patterns of each line either is smaller than the one before or bigger than the previous. Also, based on on long, how vertical it is, us as readers can see that Lopez does this to recreate the buildings of gentrification.

Now look at the amazon logo, it is smiling down upon us.

Imagery and tone of the poem is a key part for Lopez to convey his overall message of the poem. Lopez creates a mixture personification, imagery and simile (lines 8-10) to show that the new Amazon building built is quite honestly mocking him, as it is raised much higher than him. He personifies the logo where it does have the shape of a mouth smiling. By being from around the East Palo Alto area, Lopez creates the gentrification of this area spot on, where all he is saying is true! The use of a sadden and angry tone is seen throughout the poem. The words “And Marias now mourn Jesus” (line 42-43) “We miss you”(line 48) all pertain to how one who is living in gentrification is feeling. The tones of these words show how it’s like mourning Jesus, the signs that were created saying “We miss you”.

Antonio Lopez, as a Poetician, crosses the traditional borders of English poetry. He creates a wide range of visual representation of gentrification such as the whole poem of words is structured to be formatted as a building! The use of imagery of tone to convey how the community felt and saw during the process of gentrification. Now that is the Adobe-Cotta Army that took over East Palo Alto.

Roma Ventura

I stand with Antonio López.

Two years ago, I really do not think that I knew what gentrification meant. For me, the word had never come up in school, at home, or even on the internet. I have no clue if I was just living in a perfect little bubble or if it just wasn’t being talked about. Flashforward to the pandemic, I started hearing about things like BLM, the #MeToo movement and gentrification. I feel silly and disgusted with myself that I was so blinded by my privilege that I had no idea that things like gentrification even existed. So when learning about Antonio López’s life (https://www.barrioscribe.com/), I am so honored to know who he is and what he has done for his own future, community, and this world. Unlike many of today’s political leaders, López did not have it made for him from the start. He grew up in a low income household, worked hard in school in the Ravenswood school system, and eventually went to Duke, Oxford, and currently a doctoral candidate at Stanford. Not only has his education brought him huge success, but his role in his community as well. López is currently the youngest and newest member of City Council in East Palo Alto, his hometown. With López’s life in mind, it is no wonder why gentrification shines so bright in his poetry. For starters, López’s debut poetry collection, Gentefication, was selected by Gregory Pardlo as the winner of the 2019 Levis Prize in Poetry. From this book, his poem “Letter to the Editor” clearly shows how he breaks traditional borders of English poetry to challenge and resist the politics of gentrification. Written in the form of an actual letter, López calls out a “Ms. Kerr” who seems to be a leader in presenting a new health clinic on the “other side of the Silicon Valley’s tracks.” He asks questions to Ms. Kerr in his letter, saying things like “How come I didn’t have one white friend until I was sixteen” and “Should I unlearn Spanish so I can take the SAT II fairly?” López poses these questions about things in his life that have been pushed on him by racist and political ways. Writing this letter to the (likely white) woman and asking these questions about the circumstances behind his gentrified community shows how López is pushing for a change by speaking out for himself and the sake of his community. Writing this letter as a form of poetry, creates a space where more people like Lópex can use it as encouragement to stand up for themselves as well. In the final lines of “Letter to the Editor” López, in both spanish and english says, “Therefore, how would you feel if you and your colleagues wrote about us, and not just the negative shit?” This line is asking the woman, why aren’t you writing about the people we are, rather than the way that we look and where we live? López shows readers that even when facing political leaders, gentrification is never okay. To me, real poetry is when a poet says the word “shit” and signs the letter “a lifelong resident”. The power that López holds by not signing his name lifts up his community by speaking on behalf of everyone, creating unity, which gentrification tries to push out. People who want to be heard, will not be silenced. For what it’s worth, I stand with you. I stand with Antonio López.

Anne K. Anderson

Losing The Burning Spirit

With Antonio Lopez’s poem Triptych of the Adobe-Cotta Army, it drives deep into the theme of gentrification as it details the processed rebuilding and remodeling of a poor neighborhood with its community endanger of the outcome that may come, but through personification, symbolism, and imagery, Lopez illustrates the battle the locals have risen up fight against but not lasting for long. Lopez incorporates an exclusive style of the poem as through the title of “Triptych,” it is defined as a three part piece as by looking at the poem, it is separated into three parts which presents a new direction and tool of poetry. 

By looking at the first part of the poem. Lopez begins, “My fingers desperate / to unearth the ruins / of my countrymen” as he personifies the desperation of discovering within the ruins of their home that included the local people who lived by that area. Gentrification is a very distinguishable change to a community as it wipes away the culture and “visual” negative aspects of an area that make it true to the people who have lived their whole lives, but the change is what takes them away from the reality of their home to impress higher class people. Lopez having lived in East Palo Alto has probably witnessed such striving of gentrification as he mentions, Tesla / on the second floor of our apartment / — now a parking garage” as the Tesla company being a big contributor the the gentrification of certain areas by taking home space of families and locals. Explains who is causing this issue that is affecting many locals as if they can not fight against the big companies of Tesla and Amazon as they take over their area without much of a say to those who respect the city. 

Through the second part of the poem, Lopez opens the relationship between the saviors and the locals of such areas when clashing. Lopez describes, “hooded saints / tore the covenant / of earthly silence” where Lopez identifies the villains who are masked as those “saints” that will help the neighbor their their plans, but they destroy the city as breaking the universal agreement of not letting the changes affect the families and locals who have submerge their roots into the city. It’s as if they are to “preach” to the community as they try justifying their actions and decisions for the best of the city and people, but many people who do not think the same. As those people who are greatly affected are those protecting the poverty line of the city, Lopez describes “pressed / against my lips / a cholo’s chalice” where he forced to hear and understand the struggles of those front he tough areas of the city. Up for the fight, Lopez states, A fist tucked / inside a hoodie” where it demonstrates the hidden anger and frustrations the people must feel as their homes are taken away and their city changes that gentrification brings without their knowing but wanting to risk everything to take back their city. 

WIth the final part of the poem, Lopez portrays the heroes who risk everything to protect their home and community as they become soldiers in this endless battle of gentrification. Lopez mentions, “Consider the clothesline as a bandolier / sling over the ruined soldiers, / whose uniformes still cling / onto apartment balconies” as he makes the comparison of the clothesline to their bandolier that holds the ammunition over their shoulders as they are to dress to go to war against the gentrification. Lopez symbolizes the locals who wanted to fight against the battle as the soldiers, but they have let their burning spirit of taking back their city die as they give up the fight and hang up their uniforms. 

Lopez explores a different direction of poetry to better develop his main idea of the battle of gentrification because through the personification, symbolism and imagery, he demonstrates the to challenge the politics of gentrification as they are to being against the big corporations and locals losing their courage of speak back towards the gentrification.

Naraint Catalan Rios

Gentrification has left me and many without a home

 

The topic of gentrification is almost never brought up but it is something that sadly is happening a lot and it greatly affects communities in multiple ways. I myself can relate to these poems and the poet because I too come from the East Palo Alto (EPA) area. After I was born my family and I lived there for a couple of years before moving to Redwood City which is close by. It is a hard truth to think about but because of the gentrification, my family was obligated to relocate. In Antonio Lopez’s poem “Letter to the Editor” which is a letter directed to the editor Dara Kerr, an enterprise editor based in Oakland that writes about labor in the Silicon Valley, he brings up many questions that I’m sure everyone would like an answer to. 

Many would say that my chosen poem isn’t really considered a poem because of the format and lack of rhyme; however, I think it is even if it doesn’t follow the traditional guideline of an English poem. It is literally not formatted as a poem because it is a letter however it still has the same effect as if it was a poem. Many poems are made to describe a specific situation or event and within call people out which I find that in this piece that is what is going on. In the letter, the author Antonio mentions the article that the editor wrote about the new health clinic that was opened in East Palo Alto in which it was mentioned that “The press bravely announced East Palo Alto as a “strategic location” in the Silicon Valley,”(lines 2-3) one of the biggest things that came to mind when reading this is what about EPA made them feel like that was a “strategic location” what are they looking to benefit from this? The poet also brings up the many companies that have taken over parts of the EPA area in which they have built their offices and in this situation, they are the ones causing gentrification in that area. The poet calls out the article for the way that the editor chose to describe the area “ ‘we paid a visit to this once down-and-out’ town”(line 8-9), “Más que nada, cómo te parece if you and your colleagues wrote about us, and not just the negative shit?” (line 18-19) With these phrases and the use of rhetorical questions “1. How come I didn’t have one white friend till I was sixteen?” (line 11) the poet brings to question the reality of things and the gentrification effects on the community. 

Sandra Landa-Sanchez