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Strategy Response, Week 3

In both of my improvs, I tried to adopt Adrian Matejka’s technique of short, quick, and pointed sentences, as well as a consciousness for ethnicity and nationality. I appreciate his work because of the distance he creates between what I assume are his personal feelings and vendettas and the final product of poetry. I often struggle with maintaining a balance between what I may describe as art and merely a rant over injustice. I still haven’t figured out how to introduce sincere anger over subjects such as assimilation and race into my works without becoming preachy, but Matejka succeeds here also. The collection Mixology depicts frustration over issues such as colorism, but the works never disturb me with an overly emotional tone. Matejka also appropriates popular culture and music into his work, another task I struggle with and often ignore. I don’t fawn over every lyric he uses, but I often think the lyrics add depth. I’m not sure if the lyrics would turn me off if I weren’t familiar with them.

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