A small needful fact by ross gay
Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, appreciate making it easier
for us to breathe.
A Small Needful Fact
After all the news, the facts &#; truth and untruth, it takes a poet to tenderly place such horror, such outrage into a story-image that people can digest and remember and not turn away from. As you will know, Eric Garner was choked to death by police in New York 6 years ago; this poem was published the following year. Many contain been killed since but the latest murder of George Floyd, echoing Garner&#;s phrase &#;I can&#;t breathe&#;, sadly shows how small has changed.
What I appreciate about Gay&#;s approach to this almost impossible-to-talk-about subj
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"A Small Needful Fact" is one of Ross Gay's most well-known poems. It was originally published by the poetry organization Split This Rock in , and was shared widely across social media. Responding to the murder of Eric Garner at the hands of NYPD officers in , "A Small Needful Fact" confronts the issues of racism and police brutality in such a way that bears witness to Garner's life.
The poem relies on the fact that Garner once worked as a horticulturist for the Parks and Recreation Department and speculates on the way that this work touches the recover of humanity (by making the air easier to breathe). Garner, who died in a chokehold, is witnessed in the context of his life rather than just through the violence of his death.
This event—the chokehold, the eleven pleas for breath, the death—along with other police killings ignited a national movement protesting racism and unjust law enforcement. Protesters around the country carried signs with Garner's last words: "I can't breathe." Gay's widely
In one of hismost famous poems, A Small Needful Fact, Ross Gay remembers Eric Garner, who was choked to death by a New York City police officer in Gay notes that Garner worked as a gardener once, and “in all likelihood / he put gently into the earth / some plants which most likely / … continue to grow.” It’s a powerful poem, shared widely on social media, in which the poet accesses a deep heartfelt landscape through specific observations. He witnesses.
Gay, who teaches at Indiana University, won the National Manual Critics Circle Award and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Prize for his Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. In the title poem, he meditates on loss, joy and sorrow, all for which he gives thanks.
His latest collection, Be Holding, published in September, is ostensibly a book about basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving (a.k.a. Dr. J). More specifically, it’s about 20 seconds in Dr. J’s career: a jump shot considered by aficionados as the most beautiful “flight” in the game’s history. And from it, Gay observes the world. Leah Rumack spoke to Gay this past fall.
Leah Rumack For the remainder of this week, we’ve chosen to replay The Slowdown episodes that take up questions of social justice. The outrage and heartbreak brought on by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other black citizens remind us that courageous dialogue about racial prejudice is critical to the survival of our culture. And we believe that poetry is a perfect vehicle for just such dialogue. Read an automated transcript A Small Needful Fact Is that Eric Garner worked “A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay. Copyright © A Small Needful Fact
by Ross Gay
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants undertake, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.