How explicit should our words be?

Night Sky with Exit Wounds was Ocean Vuong’s first published poetry collection but the last of his works that I read. If you’ve read Ocean Vuong, you’ll know that he frequently writes from his parents’ perspectives. You’d also know that the name Ocean is a metaphor for his Vietnamese family’s immigration to the United States. He is the symbol of his family’s journey across oceans.

“If we make it to shore, he says, I will name our son after this water. I will learn to love a monster.”

Immigration Haibun, Ocean Vuong

When familiar with this information, dissecting water-related metaphors in this collection becomes gratifying. You begin to understand how lines such as “You move through me like rain heard from another country” in To My Father/To My Future Son could refer to the link current and future generations of his family will have to Vietnam, despite their relocation to the United States. 

I did not understand many great quotes or lyrics the very first time I heard them which is probably why I ended up loving them. Taking words and carving at them until the emotions behind an artist’s work reveals itself is a rewarding task. When you step back, you don’t only recognize your attention to detail but you also appreciate the care artist poured into their craft.

I received other great quotes like a punch. I had no time to cut them open and probe them for hidden messages as the exact meaning was immediately apparent. Still, they don’t lack the depth or intellect I’d associate with the art that took me a bit longer to understand. The content of the work being clear doesn’t always mean the artist’s purpose is. And even then, complete transparency and sincerity are just as impressive as creative wordplay. 

Take “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”  an acoustic five-minute Bob Dylan song my brother played for me one summer. It explores the story of Hattie Carroll: a black woman, mother, and barmaid who was murdered by a white man in 1963. The song opens up with Bob Dylan’s rough voice as he sings, “William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll with a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger.” These lyrics, like the rest of the song, leave no room for interpretation. There is no need to break the words apart to find concealed messages because there is no need for Dylan to use overly flowery writing. His candidness is a statement in itself. Hattie Carroll was an innocent woman who was violently killed by a privileged man. 

“William Zanzinger, who, at 24 years old, owns a tobacco farm of 600 acres

With rich, wealthy parents who provide and protect him.

And high office relations in the politics of Maryland…”

Dylan himself was familiar with the problems that arose from ignoring the societal elements that contextualized the murder and trial. In the song, he repeats, “But you who philosophize, disgrace, and criticize all fears…” to describe the convoluted explanations that ignored the discriminatory basis of the crime. Yet, these excuses are exactly how oppressive systems are given the room to thrive. It would be illogical for anyone to state that Hattie Carroll should receive an ounce of blame for her murder. She was a barmaid who bore the brunt of a violent man’s anger. However, when introducing “intangible” causes related to the crime such as privilege, misogyny, and racism, they hold no bearing. We suddenly can’t know William Zantzinger’s motives when he committed the crime. It would be unfair to say that any racial biases were held by the court Dylan sarcastically states values honor, equality, and justice. Even if Zantzinger was reported shouting racial slurs the night of the crime and even when racial discrimination was not yet unconstitutional, we can’t just presume that a white man receiving a six-month sentence for murdering a black woman was rooted in racism. 

Bob Dylan cleverly understood the danger of ignoring the existence of this violent system and he showcased this belief in his music.

Now, complaints about straightforward art are usually aimed at the lack of effort put in by both parties when creating or consuming it. Labelling art as straightforward is insulting to the author as it suggests that they lack the skill to create something with depth. Holding the audience’s hand is considered an insult to their intelligence as it implies that they don’t have the capacity to acknowledge intricacy. The aim of these complaints is to encourage an analytical approach to art. While it can be exhausting to be critical about everything, creating and engaging with art should be done with care and attention. Art reflects the zeitgeist of periods in history and its careful examination allows us to get a glimpse into the era in which it was produced. 

Still, we confuse laziness with realism. While the music and lyrics of “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” are simple, the song is a microcosm of 1960s America. Being frank doesn’t mean the artist lacks creativity or has doubts about their audience’s intelligence. I’m sure if he wanted to, Bob Dylan could have incorporated long and equivocal metaphors in

He could have even gone without directly mentioning Hattie or William’s names in the song and many fans would eventually conclude that the song was about the crime that took place on February 9th, 1963. 

But the song as we know it today was meant to hit the audience. Hearing this stripped-down account of the events leading to the end of Hattie Carroll’s life is supposed to hurt. It’s not meant to be philosophized or debated. It would be disrespectful to Hattie and to the many other black women who lost their lives at the hands of an angry man. 

So does this mean that to be vulnerable or authentic, facts and feelings must solely be presented as they are? Are pretty words and fluff unnecessary filler? 

This depends on the artist’s intent and the effect they are trying to produce. I think there is equally enough room for poetic, explicit, or unorthodox writing styles as there is no scientific method of telling a story.

While speaking about style in an interview with Louisiana Channel, Ocean Vuong says: 

I do not believe in style as a static phenomenon. I do not believe style is even an ontological truth. I think that we have modes in the same way we have modes of speech when we talk to our mother and different modes of speech when we talk to our friends. All of them are authentic. You’re not any more authentic with your mother than you are with your lover or your friend. You are who you are. And so the question of authenticity is the dubious quest.

And I agree. Authenticity comes in many forms, and deciding that there is one clear-cut way of being sincere would be unreasonable. But I also think we must beware of disingenuous art trying to imitate sincerity. Because oftentimes, art will be presented to an audience without the space for them to examine it any further. When creating art with no room for exploration (whether that be sensual, emotional, or, technical), the end result resembles a preaching rather than a whole piece.

For example, Rupi Kaur is a 21st-century poet whose works cover themes concerning relationships, love, and life. A poem in her “Milk and Honey” collection reads, 

“if the hurt comes

so will the happiness.”

-be patient

This short poem suggests that pain will always be overcome and that it is merely temporary, but that’s it. There is no room for more rumination. While one could argue that “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” produces the same effect, it must be noted that there is a historical foundation to the song that is absent from Kaur’s poem. Dylan forgoes subtlety because the message of his song lies in Hattie’s story and his frankness when delivering it. Dylan’s candor juxtaposes the ways juries, lawyers, and citizens attempted to “philosophize disgrace”.

As previously stated, straightforward art does have its time. Yet Kaur’s poem does not evoke a response from the audience because the poem is a proverb. The content doesn’t allow the reader room to ask questions. Kaur’s purpose is unclear because the words are not her own. The poem discourages both parties from experimenting and examining style and substance. 

Like Bob Dylan and many other other artists, Ocean Vuong provides social commentary in his work. Sometimes he is direct and oftentimes he is metaphorical. Yet whether I immediately understand what he is trying to convey or not, I often have to sit with his work after reading it.

I don’t know if many of the artists behind great works prioritize the method or the final effect first. Or if they have no exact procedure at all when creating. But I do think that the style they employ is influenced by the intended result their art will have, whether that choice is deliberate or not. And I believe that to respect their work, it’s always important for an audience to examine it with an open mind and a critical eye.