Poetry Out Loud

I am reading Apollo by Elizabeth Alexander. The poem touches on racism and the author's own struggle to fit in in her life. In the poem, the Apollo missions are occuring and men are walking on the moon. At the same time, the US is going through a time of turmoil and the main characters in the poem are members of a black family. Alexander reflects on how the Apollo missions unite the US together and let them see past the racism that has been widespread. She mentions that men walking on the moon are "stranger, stranger even than we are." With such bounds being made in human development, the racial walls start to break down, even if it is only for a moment.

There are many aspects to convey in the reading of the poem. The narrator is a member of the black family that goes down to a public area that they would not normally be welcome in to watch men walk on the moon. They aren't noticed like they would have been, and I think this is important to convey. I will read it as if I am a younger member of the family, and use more of a contemplative and curious tone. The narrator isn't aware of the meaning that the author is putting into the poem, so I will have to find a way to incorporate that as well as the younger aspects.