Personal and Social Responsibility
Background Information
Here is some background on the poem. The source is cited at the end.
“I Lost my Talk” by Mi’kmaw poet Rita Joe shows the loss of language/ culture/identity and voice in residential schools which pertains to all Indigenous cultures in Canada.
“This poem shows the disempowering effects of the residential schools, in this case the Shubenacadie school in Nova Scotia, which created a twofold tragedy…:they took away the Aboriginal language but they did not teach English well (as the children were also used as labourers). The mentioning of the spoken language (“talk”) should be read metonymically [a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept] as referring to a way of life vastly different from that of written culture.
The oral traditions were “taken away,” silencing the medium of talking in their own language as well as the message. Together with isolation from family, physical and sexual abuse, and punishment for any other kind of cultural expression, this education created “a scrambled ballad.” So, it took a while until writers emerged who had not only survived but who had also “found their talk.”
It is worth noting that Rita Joe repeats the work “talk” at the end although she herself is not talking but writing. It seems that she wants to make a point about the continuation of talk in the written word and thereby a statement about the continuation of her culture despite major disruptions.”
Source: R. Eigenbrod, G. Kakegamic and J. Fiddler, 2003. “Aboriginal Cultures in Canada: A Teacher’s Resource Guide”.
There is definitely loss in this poem and a feeling of displacement or disempowerment, but the primary tone and point of view is self-assertive and emphasizes survival and strength.
The National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa premiered a multi-media performance combining music, film and spoken word based on "I Lost My Talk". You might want to watch the performance to see how to put poetry to musical and theatrical composition.