This week I chose “Miscegenation” by my poet Natasha Trethewey. There was an allusion to another story I’d never heard of in this poem and I had to look it up. Trethewey specifically mentions the name “Joe Christmas” multiple times, though I was unsure who this was. This poem focused specifically on identity and her knowledge of herself.
She starts by describing how her parents couldn’t get married in Mississippi where she lived. This was because they were a mixed-race couple. She comments on the feeling of evil looming over them, “They crossed the river into Cincinnati, a city whose name begins with a sound like sin, the sound of wrong—mis in Mississippi.” (Lines 3-4) I thought this was clever and interesting. The idea that it was illegal for them to just get married in 1965 seems insane to us today.
Trethewey talks about this “Joe Christmas character”, apparently he was also biracial like her but was in a white orphanage and made fun of because his skin was darker. Unlike her, he is only a character. She says he was born near Christmas but she was born near Easter, another difference between the two. However, they are both from Mississippi.
The part that I like the most is the last stanza, she says her name, Natasha, means “Christmas child” in Russian. She isn’t Russian, but she does know who she is and where she came from. Themes of identity hit really close to home for me. Knowing who you are is a really powerful thing, and sometimes it feels hard to see yourself.
The title is also really important “Miscegenation” literally means when a mixed-race couple has children. It is directly related to the poem's content. I will admit I had to look this up as well, I had never heard the word before today.How do you feel about your name and your identity?
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