Shan Xu

ASA 002 A04

WEEK 8

In W.P.’s poetry, “She Shall Not Be Moved”, she shares her own experiences and feeling when she returned to teach in college. There are many harsh words and metaphor shows her pain. For example, she writes “snow-white secretary scorns and scolds”, where illustrate the discrimination from white Americans because of skin color. In the narrative, I found not only W.P. was scorned and insulted by the department coordinator, but also her students were scorned and punished. She was suffering from her working, even she “developed ulcers, arthritis, depression, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, pinched nerves.” Like her poetry, “unseen, unspoken to only daggers of moxuyou.” There is no one to help her with her body and mind health, only hurt her. Writing poetry, teaching, and watching her students are her last comfort.

W.P.’s experience during that time is really suffering and helpless. If I were she, I would give up the job of teaching and find another job that not suffering. I believe there are many choices in our life.

Would you choose to keep on teaching, or to give up?

Valverde, K.L.C (2013). Fight The Tower: Asian American Women Scholars Resistance and Renewal in the Academy. Rutgers University Press