11 mars 1963 - Wole Soyinka: Telephone Conversation

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Gedicht des nigerianischen Autors Wole Soyinka.

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey--I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"

Thema: Sprecher in London (red booth, red pillar-box, red double-tiered omnibus squelched tar") führt Telefongespräch mit Vermieterin.
Gebildeter (gehobene Wortwahl, "I hate a wasted journey", "Facially I am brunette, but, madam, you should see the rest of me") junger, schwarzer Mann wird von Vermieterin gebeten, zu beschreiben, wie schwarz er ist ("How Dark? Are you light or very dark).
Der vorher sehr höfliche Sprecher wird dadurch wütend (Anapher "red, red, red"), sein Ton wird hierauf sehr sarkastisch, allerdings immer noch unangreifbar.
Klimax am Ende: "Wouldn´t you rather see for yourself?" --> alte englische "Tradition" des "mooning" wird vom Sprecher verwendet, um zu zeigen, dekonstruiert die Hierarchie zwischen vermeintlich "unterlegenem" Sprecher und "feiner Dame".
Durch das Objekt "Telefon", welches zwischen Sprecher und Vermieterin steht wird Distanz erzeugt, die Dame kann ihn nicht sehen. Abgesehen von der Hautfarbe gäbe es kein Problem, die Wohnung zu bekommen --> Durch das Telefon wird die Bedeutung der Hautfarbe herausgestellt.
Verschiedene Tropen rund um das Telefon: "Sensing her receiver rearing on the thunderclap", "Silenced transmission of pressurised good-breeding".
Enjambement "location / indifferent" betont das Wort "Indifferent" --> Location ist alles andere als "neutral"
Binary opposition "schwarz-weiß" verschwimmen. Ab wann ist der Sprecher "weiß genug"?

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