Fast Speaking Woman/Borderlands La Frontera

In Fast Speaking Woman, the poem/chant is describing different types of women and who they are. In the beginning she says that while writing the poem she was trying to make her chant by “naming all the kinds of women there are to be, interweaving personal details.” From this we see that although she uses the word I, she is not only speaking about herself. She is speaking about all of the different types of women that there are, it is a “chant for all women”. While writing this she was trying to find herself and create an identity. Her chants come from different experiences she has had in her life.

In Borderlands La Frontera, Gloria Anzaldua starts her story by describing how she started writing her poems. She starts by mentioning that she would tell stories or “cuentos” to her little sister in order to put her to bed. She also states that she felt like she needed to “bathe, feed and clothe” her work as it was being manifested. This idea to me makes it seem like her stories or “work” are very powerful. She personifies her work. They way that she describes it is as if writing her stories take over her and she just has to give in. She also speaks on different experiences in her life, which are the grounds for some of her poems.

Both of these poems have a similar theme as well as style. They both use the style of repetition with the word I. They both are describing different type of women. They are trying to create a sense of identity for all of the women. Both stories also describe the processes in which both writers took to write their poems and what inspired them. Both poets describe their writings as something powerful that can take over them. They can both be described as feminist trying to create an identity for themselves as well as all women. They aren’t being allowed to be who they need to be and are both being restricted. Personal experiences help both of these women to create their poems.