September Suite

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Collective Grief

Throughout “September Suite,” Clifton gives names to the things Americans are grieving in the wake of the attacks. These range from big, abstract concepts (such as America as it once was in “Tuesday 9/11/01”) to specific individuals (firemen in “Thursday 9/13/01”) and the lasting pain of old injustices (treasonous memory in “Friday 9/14/01”). Each poem creates space for mourning behaviors: weeping, singing, praying, and feeling emotions like hate and love. Visually, lines and stanzas are cushioned with lots of white space on the page, either due to short lines, caesuras, or short stanzas. This white space provides breathing room for the reader while honoring the literal absences that come with loss of life. It is both kind and cruel of Clifton to not fill these spaces with flowery words and condolences, instead inviting us to feel them with her.

A plurality of collectives appears in these poems: Americans, African Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, Arab children, ancient people, and future generations. Collective grief transforms: a persecuted man into a beloved one in “Saturday 9/15/01,” and ordinary Americans call for more blood in “Tuesday 9/12/01.” Clifton takes the reader on a journey through grieving and all of its unpredictable, nonsensical consequences. The structure of this manuscript suggests that the only way out of collective grief is to feel it and hold space.

American Nationalism

In response to an attack on their nation, Clifton crafts images of people showing renewed devotion to their nation. People stand under flags and sing multiple times in these poems. This unity is explicitly tied to the national identity of those present, and it is deeply unsatisfying for the thoughtful speaker. In “Wednesday 9/12/01,” she is admonished for asking who exactly gets to don the label of “American.” In “Friday 9/14/01,” the speaker is accused of treason for remembering. The protective shell of nationalist sentiment is fragile, and it falls apart under too much scrutiny.

After the fourth poem, the words “American” and “America” are done appearing in the manuscript. The speaker has surpassed the need for patriotism. Instead, human oneness and worldwide unity, which first appeared as tremendous sorrow and death in “Tuesday 9/11/01,” emerge as the ultimate answer. The hate is still present, as is the love. In contrast to the fervor and bloodlust of nationalism, fellow-feeling and acceptance present a sustainable, livable way forward.

The Role of the Artist

Clifton is dedicated to the pursuit of truth in her poetry; molding her truth into something more comfortable or palatable for an audience is a betrayal of that value. Conflict and discomfort as a result of her truth-telling was a side effect Clifton accepted, as she was often quoted saying she “tried to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted” (“Lucille Clifton, 1936-2010: Award-Winning Poet Was First African-American Laureate of Maryland.” VOA News, 2010).

Much of “September Suite” is a push and pull between the speaker and her opponent as she works to exercise this value. By restating her opponent’s objection to her answers, she gives the reader much-needed context to understand the conflict at hand without losing agency and control over the narrative. In “Wednesday 9/12/01,” she is told to wait for a more appropriate time to speak; in “Friday 9/14/01,” she doesn’t wait to speak. She defies this voice to point out that the weeping is not new, and they speak against her to reassure themselves. She answers with a story in “Saturday 9/15/01” that shows silencers like her opponent are fickle and hypocritical. The opposition flails weakly off page in “Sunday Morning 9/16/01,” a quiet voice in the background telling the speaker to kindle her hatred, but it has lost all power to silence the speaker.

Despair and Ecstasy

Big emotions take center stage in “September Suite.” Clifton is known for her spare, straightforward style. Short, simple language communicates her meaning effectively, and she’s unafraid of using the same word twice. Some variant of the word “hate” appears three times in “Sunday Morning 9/16/01,” on Lines 5, 8, and 15. Clifton avoids flowery language and overwrought descriptions. Instead, her plain language has a rawness and honest quality, and the repetition wears on the reader as these consuming feelings tire the speaker.

On the syntactic level, Clifton is unafraid of densely packing intense language into her lines. Consider this list near the end of “Sunday Morning 9/16/01”:

the everydayness of bravery

of hate of fear of tragedy

of death and birth and hope (Lines 14-16).

The words “bravery,” “hate,” “fear,” and “tragedy” butt up against each other with only the tiny two-letter word “of” to separate them. Such contrast in such a small space demonstrates how overwhelmed the speaker feels in this moment, and the tension builds, bubbling over into ecstatic love. The tone shifts significantly from a sense of doom in Line 15 to a sense of potential in Line 16. The second dedication and declaration of her granddaughter’s full name on Line 19 reframes this gesture of love as a promise for a better, brighter world.