Strategy Response 1, Week 3

Adrian Matejka's poem "Do the Right Thing" presents its reader with a seemingly-easy juxtaposition of poetics and pop culture, a very difficult task in post-modern poetry, as pop culture generally finds itself in opposition to poetics rather than in dialogue, as this poem presents. Matejka inserts references to Spike Lee as well as the famous director's films, particularly Do the Right Thing and suggests the hesitation with which Lee granted an autograph. In tandem with references to recent films and contemporary directors, Matejka adds slang speech that might not otherwise be considered poetic. For instance, in the sixth stanza, he writes Lee saying, "Why you care? You / ain't even black." To which an audience member replies, "Damn, Spike. That ain't / right." These simple dialects of English, considered far outside the standard, add a particular feel to the poem, giving it "edge," if you will, and allowing the reader to perceive Lee's anger, the audience's insistence, and the speaker's humiliation.