Transcript: Poems on Air, Episode 12 - Harryette Mullen

[Music intro]

LYNNE THOMPSON: Hello! My name is Lynne Thompson, Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles and I’m so happy to welcome listeners to this installment of Poems on Air, a podcast supported by the Los Angeles Public Library. Every week, I’ll present the work of poets I admire, poets who you should know, and poets who have made a substantial and inimitable contribution to the art and craft of poetry.

LYNNE THOMPSON: This week and next, I’ll continue to celebrate Cave Canem with the work of members of its Faculty. The first, Harryette Mullen, is a professor in the Department of English at UCLA. She’s the recipient of several awards including a Guggenheim fellowship and a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. In 2010, Mullen received the Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers and the judges said her work is "brilliant and enigmatic, familiar and subversive. Like jewels, her poems are multifaceted and shoot off lights.” We’re fortunate to have her light shining here in Los Angeles.

LYNNE THOMPSON: Today’s poem is “We Are Not Responsible" by Harryette Mullen.

We Are Not Responsible

We are not responsible for your lost or stolen relatives. We can-
not guarantee your safety if you disobey our instructions. We
do not endorse the causes or claims of people begging for hand-
outs. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Your
ticket does not guarantee that we will honor your reservations.
In order to facilitate our procedures, please limit your carrying
on. Before taking off, please extinguish all smoldering resent-
ments. If you cannot understand English, you will be moved
out of the way. In the event of a loss, you’d better look out for
yourself. Your insurance was cancelled because we can no
longer handle your frightful claims. Our handlers lost your lug-
gage and we are unable to find the key to your legal case. You
were detained for interrogation because you fit the profile. You
are not presumed to be innocent if the police have reason to
suspect you are carrying a concealed wallet. It’s not our fault
you were born wearing a gang color. It is not our obligation to
inform you of your rights. Step aside, please, while our officer

inspects your bad attitude. You have no rights that we are bound
to respect. Please remain calm, or we can’t be held responsible
for what happens to you.

LYNNE THOMPSON: The Los Angeles Poet Laureate was created as a joint program between the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Public Library and this podcast will be available on the Library’s website. In the future, episodes will be available on iTunes, Google, and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

[Music outro]

  • Back to Poems on Air: Episode 12

    • DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a certified or verbatim transcript, but rather represents only the context of the class or meeting, subject to the inherent limitations of real-time captioning. The primary focus of real-time captioning is general communication access and as such this document is not suitable, acceptable, nor is it intended for use in any type of legal proceeding. Transcript provided by the author.

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