Last week, thousands of Madison protesters marched against ICE activity, spurred on in the short-term by the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Protesters marched to the Wisconsin State Capitol and held a vigil at Library Mall, embodying protest in a classic sense.
Another form of protest, less discussed but no less meaningful, is the kind achieved through literature — whether through stories, poems, essays or other forms.
On campus, education director at the Madison Journal for Literary Criticism Quinn Henneger said the journal discussed the recent waves of ICE activity in relation to its previous theme of endurance.
Henneger said the recent rallies succeeded at showing discontent, though it is necessary to include non-white voices.
Graduate of the University of Wisconsin and renowned poet Danez Smith said the surges of ICE activity are a more reckless form of policies that have existed for decades.
“How [the U.S.] treats people from other countries, both within and outside our own borders … for decades, it’s been atrocious,” Smith said.
Professor of English and Chican@ and Latin@ studies, Theresa Delgadillo, said literature written by immigrants is effective for understanding the experiences and mindsets of those in migration.
“They talk about the experiences of exclusion and isolation, and also the economic difficulties that migrants encounter,” Delgadillo said.
Smith said a common misconception concerning immigration is that immigrants are in some way different from the rest of the population.
Aside from Native Americans, Smith said, every inhabitant of the U.S. immigrated — or has ancestors who immigrated — to the country at some point in their lives.
According to Henneger, a rhetorical error made by many groups, including left-leaning groups, is tying the value of immigrants to their economic contributions, such as in the agricultural sector.
“The reason why we should want them in our country [shouldn’t be] because of their labor … they should be welcome, period,” Henneger said.
Delgadillo said works of fiction and non-fiction can help audiences understand the causes and consequences of immigration and immigration policy. Even entirely fictitious novels can be colored by the experiences of those who wrote them, Delgadillo said.
According to Delgadillo, novels can also serve as vehicles to demonstrate the flawed nature of the current U.S. immigration system. For example, Delgadillo said darker stories expose how the lack of a proper legal pathway to citizenship has exposed migrants to human trafficking and exploitative smugglers.
“We can find in literature an opportunity to think about our contemporary moment or think about it differently,” Delgadillo said.
According to Henneger, literature can foster a critical consciousness in its readers, whether through understanding language and its uses or by looking to the past to learn about the present. It can also encourage collaboration between community members, Henneger said.
Authors use literature to grant an understanding of their current moment through reading and writing, Henneger said.
Smith said a duty of artists is to pay attention to the world and to help others understand it. According to Smith, language, as harnessed by poets, can be a means of communicating their perspective of the world to a wider audience. They said art is inherent to social movements and has, for centuries, helped people change the world.
“People need art,” Smith said. “There is no life without art. There is no change without art.”
What about students at UW who hope to make this change through their own art? Delgadillo said students should consider applying or submitting work to journals such as the Madison Journal of Literary Criticism, the University’s Latinx Studies Journal or other groups that help students understand their craft.
Smith said an important aspect of writing about the current political moment is to consider one’s vantage point. According to Smith, writers should best discuss matters from their perspective instead of trying to adopt another’s.
Smith also said writers should read as much as they write and try to point back at themselves through their work. They also said courageousness and a willingness to experiment are crucial for success.
“Write fearlessly … you’re gonna mess up, and when you do mess it up, take the lesson and go try again,” Smith said.
Henneger said writings about the current political moment do not need to be perfect and can even be in the form of small journal entries. Instead, they said, writers should view their role as to reflect the times in which they live.
“It’s our duty to show that we were here during this moment … we were trying to figure out our positionality with everything and what to do,” Henneger said.
Authors recommended by the interviewees include: bell hooks, Jose Antonio Vargas, George Abraham, June Jordan, Amiri Baraka, Martín Espada, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Reyna Grande and more.
