They Feed They Lion

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1972

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Literary Context

Phillip Levine is often compared to American poet Walt Whitman, who captured American people a century early. With its long lines and cataloguing list, both techniques Whitman also used, “They Feed They Lion” is especially Whitmanesque. This poem is an anomaly and Levine was lauded for his skill in creating narrative poems about the struggles of Jewish Americans and the working-class of Detroit. His view is considered authentic based on his own jobs as a young man in the auto industry and in bottling companies in Detroit. Since he also faced antisemitism, he views the oppressed with sympathy.

After leaving Detroit, Levine studied with Robert Lowell and John Berryman at the University of Iowa. He developed a straightforward free verse style after dabbling with form. Levine is known for his use of dramatic monologue, capturing American colloquial voice, and descriptions of places, people, and things—particularly those in urban environments.

During his lifetime, Levine received the highest honors, including United States poet laureate. He was respected by critics and popular with audiences. Poets such as Larry Levis, David St. John, Gary Soto, Dorianne Laux, and fellow poet laureate Ada Limon have cited his influence as a teacher and poet. As Wen Stephenson noted in The Atlantic, “Few writers have made one time and place as singularly their own as has Levine in his elegies for the working-class life of the [Detroit] he knew as a child and young man” (See: Further Reading & Resources).

Historical Context

In late July 1967, hot weather exacerbated tensions in downtown Detroit—an area primarily populated by low-income African Americans, where 60,000 residents were housed in less than 500 acres and many were subjected to racial profiling and police brutality. The city’s famed auto manufacturers were shedding jobs, leaving many out of work, hungry, and stressed about their bills. Countless white citizens moved to surrounding suburbs, leaving behind vacant storefronts and widespread unemployment in their flight. The vital center of Detroit was depleted and filled with desperate people.

The violence began when policemen raided a speakeasy in the early morning hours of July 23 and the clubgoers were reluctant to leave the air-conditioning it provided. As the officers waited for vehicles to arrest the patrons, a man threw a bottle into the gathering crowd. Within an hour, thousands had joined the chaos and the group grew uncontrollable. Looting began and then the first of many fires broke out. Additional officers were sent by the governor, but the riot intensified.

The National Guard arrived on the evening of July 24 but only modest improvement was made. By July 25, the crisis had grown and the governor asked for national troops. President Lyndon Johnson sent in 2,000 paratroopers who patrolled the streets. Order was restored on July 27, but the cost was high: 43 people dead, 342 injured, approximately 1,400 buildings burned. An estimated 7,000 people had been arrested and 5,000 were left without a home. There was $50 million worth of property damage.

The Kerner Commission, appointed by President Johnson, wrote a report which stated, “What the rioters appeared to be seeking was fuller participation in the social order and the material benefits enjoyed by many American citizens. Rather than rejecting the American system, they were anxious to obtain a place for themselves in it” (See: Further Reading and Resources). Detroit has spent years trying to recover from the underlying causes of the riot: failing industry, systemic racism, and economics that continue to favor white people.