CEREMONIES
By ESSEX HEMPHILL

Cleis Press, 2000 (Reprint)
ISBN 1573441015
192 pages; Paperback
GENRE(S): Non-fiction, Poetry, Autobiography/Memoir, Cultural Studies, Gay/Lesbian Interests, African-American Interests, Essays

Reviewed by Bri Lafond

Essex Hemphill was one of the most influential voices in the homosexual African-American community throughout the '80s and early '90s before his AIDS-related death in 1995. Ceremonies is his sprawling book of poetry and criticism—part autobiography, part history—about being black, gay, and rejected by both communities. It's a powerful collection that navigates complicated issues of identity and the social, political, and historical realities of a difficult time in the history of homosexual rights.

Ceremonies is divided into seven sections loosely divided by theme. The first section is dominated by the lengthy poem "Heavy Breathing." Mingling physical sex, gender roles, and the historical Middle Passage, "Heavy Breathing" focuses on the treatment of gender within the black community. Hemphill calls out those within the black community who are holier-than-thou about homosexuality but are notorious for mistreating black women: "The unfortunate [women] who must ride in the back/ with the fellas/ often endure foul remarks;/ the fellas are quick to call them/ out of name, as if all females/ between eight and eighty/ are simply pussies with legs."

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At the end of this long meditation, Hemphill ultimately dismisses the myth of heterosexual bliss within the black community, treating it as a fictional museum display: "viewing artifacts,/ breathing heavy/ on the glass/ to see—/ the skeletal remains of black panthers,/ pictures of bushes,/ canisters of tears." The interesting aspect here is the emphasis on "breathing heavy/ on the glass," which implies a clouding effect and, presumably, a willed creation of the subsequent sexualized images: They are not actually there but are projected by the viewer.

Section two is predominantly made up of essays on varying subjects. "Does Your Mama Know About Me?" addresses conflicts black men face within the gay community. Hemphill relates the erotically-charged photography of Robert Mapplethorpe to the status of the black man within the gay community to illustrate the fetish status of the black body. Moreover, he points out the socio-economic challenges unique to the black community that increase the need for solidarity within the black community, the community comprised of biological family.

This idea of familial solidarity is underlined in the personal narrative "Miss Emily's Grandson Won't Hush His Mouth." The piece recounts Hemphill's relationship with his grandmother and her reaction to reading his work for the first time. Though the chapbook of poetry he gives her contains explicit references to his sexuality, Miss Emily's only reaction is: "Essex, do the authorities know what you're writing about?" Hemphill's response is laughter, but he surmises at the end of the piece, "She could formulate such a question only because she had witnessed how dangerous it is for Black people to be outspoken in America."

The collection fluctuates back and forth between the two loci of Hemphill's identity and the relationship of identity to political, historical, and social circumstance. This sense of flux is heightened by the use of both poetry and prose to explore these ideas. However, the collection does not come across as uneven: Both Hemphill's poetry and prose have an easy, conversational quality to them. The poetry is structured in a standard way, but the rhythm of each poem is overwhelmingly that of the spoken word. The only potential awkwardness in structure comes from the very explicit sexuality that peppers the book: It can be a bit jarring to come across "sweet man pussy" in the midst of a social commentary, but the shock wears off as one becomes acquainted with Hemphill's writing.

For those interested in the history of the gay community in the '80s and early '90s and for those interested in the intersection of race and gender, Ceremonies provides a detailed glimpse into these worlds. It is an intriguing historical document that still finds resonance in our increasingly conservative political climate.

(October, 2007)