Poetry is a great medium to play with words, sounds and ideas about anthropology. If you have a poem about fieldwork, ethnography, or any anthropological topic, email the RAI's This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poem by: Nafisa Fera

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So what are these folks studying?

For one, this thing's about seeing how to unpack our mysteries,

sophistries and histories

longside other far-out ways of being.

 

But who's looking for 'Ways to Be'?

Metaphoric'ly speaking, you 'see'

The most peripheral 'vision, 're-framed with

(something approaching) 'precision'(!)

opens out what it means to say 'we'.

 

So anthropology speaks to 'we-dom'? Of the kinds you may find in free-dom?

Add the powers we practice, plus the knowledge we lack

'tis so way beyond being zero-sum.

 

Our games here turn somewhat dour (netting praxis, knowhow +power)

Me now need a shower, or an ecologically brief

wipe down, with fig-leaf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poem by: Siddartha Chaterjee

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The Hospital Nursery

Look at the newborns,
Each a different face,
Different texture of hair,
Different accent and race.

Then a stranger came in,
From where I’m not sure,
And told for each child,
What was in store.

Kelly will think,
Fatima estranged
To succumb to a marriage
Her parents arranged.

Mike will own pretty things
And work hours on end.
But John will only desire
To subsist with a friend.

Toa will demolish
Some fried chicken feet,
Making Mary choke
On her chocolate covered treat

Ruth will view witch craft
With bemused defiance,
Then preach the Bible
As if it was science.

Chai will embrace the wrinkles
That prove him wise,
As Cindy covers hers
With a plastic disguise.

Yeliz will cook a sweet curry,
With an exotic flavour
And share it around
With her many a neighbour.

Yet Lisa will live
Near someone she barely knows
And dine with her Laptop
Blogging her woes.

Joan’s daily routine,
Will be a varied one.
Liban’s will be as simple,
As that of the sun.

Tomas will establish
A military coup,
Oh how cultural influence
Effects what we do!

Oh the contradictions,
Do they not astound you, friend?
To see how people strife,
From beginning to end?

I replied if you’re right.
I hope they’re prepared.
To remember this room.
They so equally shared.

 

 

 

 

 

Poem by: Linda Allison

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An Ode To Anthropology

A question has just come to me
Of what is Anthropology?
And in this verse I will endeavour
To answer it both true and clever.

The thoughts, ideas and deep feelings
Of all primates and human beings
Is what is at the central core?
A subject to discover more.

Perspectives of all cultures wide,
A global vision of every side.
Similarity and diversity,
Evolution and humanity.

A humble village or small town
Every race from white to brown,
A busy bustling central city
All contest for identity.

To work with people near and far
In cultures often quite bizzare,
To study how we came to be
In all of our complexity.

Through scientific points of view
To study both the old and new.
Or perhaps a little empathy
Inside a small community.

Near and far, new or old
The explanations do unfold
Of why we’re here and how we came
Of why we’re different and the same.

Anthropology is for me
A fantastic choice for a degree,
To give a global perspective
To understand life and then to live!

Author: NAGTY Anthropology Summer School