PROGRAM INFO
- Title:
- Poetry And Its Political Context / Heroin And Its Policy Context
- Program #
- 1980-26
- Themes:
- Culture, Society
- Series:
- Social Issues
- Host:
- Linda Fregoso
- Guests:
- Albert Mata, Ricardo Sánchez
- Date:
- Apr 19, 1980
Poetry and its political context / Heroin and its policy context
In this episode, Linda Fregoso first interviews Ricardo Sanchez about his poetry and then speaks with Dr. Albert Mata about heroin use in the Chicano Community. Dr. Ricardo Sanchez discusses prominent themes in his poetry and his interest in gender, sexuality, liberation and cultural expression. He describes his writing process and explains that he has had to create his own poetic forms and structures. He also explains his disinterest in academia and academics who teach what they cannot do. He then discusses the sensuality that characterizes his work. He also talks about the International Poetry Festival and the difference between Europeans who value other cultures and Americans who do not want to risk learning about others.
Fregoso then interviews Mata, who describes some of the myths and fears associated with Chicano drug use. Scholars have developed three models to explain Chicano addiction. The first explains that Chicano addicts are passive and withdrawn. However, studies show they are more like entrepreneurs. The second explains that drug use is the result of community disintegration; yet, Mata points out, drug addiction is also found within the upper and middle class. The third and most realistic model suggests that Mexican American drug use is one pattern of many. Mata also describes studies that associate drug use with gang membership. Mata argues that scholars need to understand the history and effects of addiction within Chicano communities and believes we need to make policies that deal with the root problems of drug addiction.
KEYWORDS
AcademiaAddiction
Addicts
Albert Mata
Alienation
American Culture
Barrios
Canto y Grito mi Liberacion
Chicano Poetry
Class
Community Tension
Cultural Expression
Drug Abuse
Drug Dealers
El Contrabando
El Paso, Texas
Family
Ford Foundation
Gangs
Gender
Hechizospells
Heroin
Holiday Inn
International Poetry Festival
Junkies
La Traicion
Literature
McDonald’s
NACS
Police
Ricardo Sanchez
San Francisco
Sensuality
Sexuality
Subeconomy
Union Graduate School
Writing
Zavala