homage to my hips

by Lucille Clifton

This poem is from Two-Headed Woman, 1980.   Click here for the text or here for audio.  It can also be found in The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, vol. 2, third ed. (660). 

Photo collage by Jeremy Wolff is from http://jeremywolff.com/collages/.  Used by permission.  Please do not reproduce.

Discussion questions:

1.   What is the effect of the various adjectives used to modify "hips" in the poem?
2.  In what ways does the poem address race and gender?
3.   Clifton has called this a "universal" poem; can you justify or explain such a claim?
4.   How does the point of view shift during the course of the poem?

created by Stan Galloway 5 September 2006.  Last updated 5 September 2006..  Contact me at sgallowa@bridgewater.edu