My Overall Experience

I have learned a lot throughout my experience at VG. In addition to gaining future contacts, I've had the opportunity to work with some great people. Voices from the Gaps has helped me to better understand some of the class readings as the work I was doing gave me a better reference.


Throughout the semester I have come across many influential women while working at VG. I have also aquired a great resource for future research. I have gained the insight of different cultures and have been able to understand Zora Neale Hurston's literature. Ms. Hurston is someone who we have read throughout the semester. I was able to read her biography and gain a sense of understanding.



Throughout the course of English Literature 1501: Literature of Public Life, I have been able to see what has impacted my organization. If it hadn't been for Dr. Martin Luther King, I don't believe that an organization like VG would be able to exist because it wouldn't be accepted in the American public. Not only would it not be accepted but most of the minorities would be slaves and wouldn't be able to read or write.


I have also been able to see the connection of feminism. Seen as though Voices from the Gaps only deals with women, people who work for VG could be considered feminists. The most interesting part of VG is that a majority of the people who work here are white men. Just goes to show what the American public has come to accept, and Dr. King was one of the greatest influences of today's world.

My Work, Themes, and The Woman Thing

We see a clear theme of feminism in "The Woman Thing" by Audre Lorde. Men are portrayed as being hunters. The hunters "challenge or task" is to search for food but they end up not finding any. They can't look at the sun because it reminds them that the day is over and they have failed.


The hunters do not find food and decide to 'hunt' for young girls for their own 'amusement.' The young girls escape the hunters and the speaker of the poem does "the woman thing" that she was taught by her mother. The speaker wants food for her own child and submits.



This poem relates to my work in more ways than one. Both my work and the poem have the theme of feminism but it relates beyond the obvious connection of a theme. My work is like the work of the hunter, although I am not looking for young girls for my own amusement. I am however trying to help the women, only I am not looking for any other favors as the poem suggests.

At Voices from the Gaps we try to help minority women by giving them a biography page. We try to make them more know and allow research on a less know artist or writer. But more than just trying to help the women, we try to help the community. We do this by bridging the gaps between literature, society, and culture.

Audre Lorde just so happens to have a biography page on our site. We give a full background of her life and we show all of her works. Check out Audre Lorde's page.

Like what you see? Check out Voices from the Gaps now!

"The Woman Thing"
The hunters are back from beating the winter’s face
in search of a challenge or task
in search of food
making fresh tracks for their children’s hunger
they do not watch the sun
they cannot wear its heat for a sign
of triumph or freedom;
The hunters are treading heavily homeward
through snow that is marked
with their own bloody footprints.
emptyhanded, the hunters return
snow-maddened, sustained by their rages.

In the night after food they may seek
young girls for their amusement. But now
the hunters are coming
and the unbaked girls flee from their angers.
All this day I have craved
food for my child’s hunger
Emptyhanded the hunters come shouting
injustices drip from their mouths
like stale snow melted in the sunlight.

Meanwhile
the woman thing my mother taught me
bakes off its covering of snow
like a rising blackening sun.

My Work, Themes, and A Letter from Birmingham Jail

When reading A Letter from Birmingham Jail, it is evident that Dr. Martin Luther King was very enraged about being discriminated for being African-American. Dr. King talks a lot about peaceful protests. One of the major themes that emerges from Dr. King's letter is race. Dr. King says that race is the problem with America. King tried to use peaceful protest to gain civic equality.

At the heart of Dr. Kings letter is the issue of race. Almost 50 years later, the first African-American president of he United States was elected. I believe that Dr. King was successful in this attempts to gain civic equality for everyone. Although America still has problems when it come to racism, we have come quite a long ways. Without Dr. King, Voices from the Gaps would be impossible.

Since Voices from the Gaps is a site for only woman writers and artists of color, most of them would not be able to do what they are doing if not for Dr. King. Dr. King brought civic equality into American life. Civic equality in terms of law, but over time, we have accomplished Dr. Kings dream of full equality. With this type of equality, minority writers and artists have prospered.

This is where my work comes into play. At VG we write biographies about these minority women. Race is important at VG, not because we discriminate but because we are giving minorites a larger voice.

Check the new VG page now!

My Work and Themes of 1501

I have noticed that my work intersects multiple themes that have been discussed in English Literature 1501. Although my work isn't as 'hands on' as tutoring a third grader, my work does involve many different themes, they just may appear hidden and take some thought to uncover them.


The first theme that I noticed, which is pretty obvious, is feminism. Seen as though VG is a website devoted to women, it was one of the first themes that I saw when I stared working. The next theme that I noticed was race, which again, is pretty obvious because VG is not only devoted to women, but to only women of color.

Although the themes may seem obvious, they would more accurately be described as what Dr. Dan refers to as the iceberg effect. Themes appear to be obvious, but there is a lot more to them than what you see at first glance. First, the site isn't just colored women writers and artists promoting themselves, in fact, a majority of people working for VG happen to be white, and even more suprising is the majority of white men.


My work involves both of these themems becasue it only consists of working with women of color. When I transcribed an interview, it was of a colored woman, Nora DeLoach. Being a white male and working for an orginaztion that specalizes in these two themse of feminism and race, I get a sense of 'helping' the causes.


And remember, VG is all new: check it out!

My Work

I have done many different tasks while working at Voices from the Gaps. Most of my work has been done by using technology, rather than working with people. Although, I have had to interact with the other people at VG. Most of my work has consisted of using a computer. I have created a Facebook group.

Check out the new Facebook group

I have also worked on multiple projects. I made a VG flier, transcribed an interview, and emailed about 500 professors at the U of M about the new VG page.

Although I don't see a direct result from my volunteer work, like I would if I was working one on one with a young student, I do know that my work is helping VG. Maria Damon, my adviser, and Josh Capodarco consistently tell the group supporting VG how integral our assistance has become and how much we've accomplished. Their feedback confirms my work is helping the organization. I do a lot of behind the scenes stuff, most of it is what keeps the site going.

Since I wasn't as involved with people, there is a challenge to see what effect my work has, but I have really gotten the word out about VG by using a Facebook group and creating a flier, and those dreadful emails. I have helped VG tell people about its new site, which was recently redone using Dreamweaver. The site has come along way, and with my little effort, it will continue to flourish.

Check out the new VG