{"id":468,"date":"2022-12-13T16:16:40","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T21:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/eng118st-fa22\/?p=468"},"modified":"2022-12-16T12:57:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T17:57:19","slug":"where-the-sidewalk-ends-begins-and-begins-before-the-end-where-the-sidewalk-ends-by-shel-silverstein-through-the-lens-of-gender-identity-and-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/eng118st-fa22\/where-the-sidewalk-ends-begins-and-begins-before-the-end-where-the-sidewalk-ends-by-shel-silverstein-through-the-lens-of-gender-identity-and-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Sidewalk Ends, Begins, and Begins Before the End: \u201cWhere the Sidewalk Ends\u201d by Shel Silverstein Through the Lens of Gender Identity and Discovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where the Sidewalk Ends, Begins, and Begins<\/a>\u00a0Before the End<\/a><\/p>\n

For my project, I decided to remix Shel Silverstein\u2019s \u201cWhere the Sidewalk Ends.\u201d I
\nremixed this poem by separating the three stanzas of his poem and adding my own poetry in
\nbetween to make the narrative inclusive of my own experiences with gender identity and
\ndiscovery. Going into this project, I knew that I wanted to remix a poem in this fashion, but I was
\nnot sure which poem I wanted to choose. I ultimately settled on \u201cWhere the Sidewalk Ends\u201d
\nbecause this poem was an integral part of my childhood. I remember reading it with my mother,
\nand I feel that the person I am now makes me read this poem in a much different light than I did
\nthen. After picking this poem, I considered what facet of my identity I felt caused the change in
\nthe way I read the poem, and I settled on my journey of gender discovery and my gender identity.<\/p>\n

While creating this project, I thought for a while about what, exactly, my critique of his
\npoem would be. In class, we defined critique based on our interpretations of \u201cWhat is Critique\u201d
\nby Judith Butler. From our manifesto of critique, I drew from the ideas that critique is an
\ninterpretation as well as a response. My project employs critique as it responds to the ideas
\nwithin Silverstein\u2019s poem, comments on them, questions them, and even expands them. This
\ncritique is done through my own identity as a trans person. Though I likely had a different
\ninterpretation of this poem as a child, my current understanding is that Silverstein paints the end
\nof the sidewalk as this sort of idyllic final destination. He\u2019s basically saying keep walking,
\nthrough the bad, so that you may reach this ideal end. When I first came out as trans, I viewed
\nmy existence and experience in much the same way. I thought that even if my current situation
\nwas not what I wished, even if I was still deadnamed and misgendered, I could persevere because
\none day I would be all grown up and accepted. I thought that people would forget the me I left
\nbehind. Basically, in my journey with my gender identity, I was looking for my own end of the
\nsidewalk. I think that that thinking harmed, rather than helped, my coming out experience. After
\nI\u2019d come out, I started to realize that those around me, those who I already knew, were willing to
\ncall me by my preferred name and pronouns. And then, when I came to college, I met people
\nwho only knew me for me, not for who I was. Basically, in my experience with gender identity, I
\nrealized that I didn\u2019t have to wait to have the acceptance I wanted and could rather cultivate a
\nspace for myself right where I was standing. I applied this thinking to \u201cWhere the Sidewalk
\nEnds\u201d by writing that same experience in a style that would mesh nicely with Silverstein\u2019s
\npoem. I wrote about longing for the end of the sidewalk, being unable to forget the beginning of
\nthe sidewalk, and then the ultimate realization that yes the sidewalk will end but there will be
\ngood before that end. Since poetry is a bit more ambiguous than other forms of writing, the
\ncritique within the writing can be a bit difficult to understand. In order to combat that, I
\nspecifically stated my intention within the title: an exploration of the poem through gender
\nidentity and discovery. Finally, as this is a multimedia project, and as my critique is a critique
\nspecifically related to me, I also decided to do my own take on Silverstein\u2019s line drawings that he
\noften has alongside his poems. I used these drawings to further illustrate my points
\n(progression?) of critique within the poem as well as another way to make this project more me<\/em>. I
\nmade this project more me by adding a lot of colors to the drawings as color is a huge part of my
\npresentation and existence in this world.<\/p>\n

This project, while a remix, is still an original work. I managed to keep this work original
\nby utilizing my identity as a lens through which to update Silverstein\u2019s poem. So, remixing,
\noriginality, and identity are related as one way to keep a remix of an existing work original is to
\nremix it through a facet of your own identity. This relationship shows up in my project as the
\nentirety of my project is a remix of Silverstein\u2019s poem. Even though I used the entirety of
\nSilverstein\u2019s poem within my project, I acknowledged that this work was not my own by citing
\nthe original poem within the title. Though I used this poem as a framework, the end result serves
\na different purpose and puts forth a different narrative. I remixed the poem to be a narrative
\nabout gender identity, which therefore leaves the poem as an original work.<\/p>\n

This remix, while an original work, is also a form of critique towards the original poem.
\nCritique is an interpretation and a response, as I mentioned before, but critique is also a way to
\ntest the limits of a work. To critique is to notice where a work excels, and perhaps where it falls
\nshort. And then, if we notice where the work falls short, we can remix the work to correct that
\nshortcoming. Within my project, I noticed that I no longer read \u201cWhere the Sidewalk Ends\u201d the
\nway that I used to because I no longer thought that I needed to wait until the supposed end of the
\nsidewalk to get what I wanted, specifically in the lens of my gender identity. I remixed the poem
\nto include my experience with gender identity which also remixed the ideas already within the
\npoem, creating a new remix and an original work.<\/p>\n

Finally, though I\u2019m proud of how this project turned out, there are a lot of things that I
\nwish I had done differently. For starters, I wish that I\u2019d had more time to put into this project.
\nGiven the nature of college and finals, I was not able to put as much time and effort into this as I
\nhad hoped. Had I had more time to give, I likely would have expanded the poem and edited what
\nI have down some more. I\u2019m also wondering now if there were more ways I could have gotten
\nthe point of my critique across without relying on the drawings and title to do so. As a whole, I
\nthink I\u2019m happy with how this project turned out. Going forward, I\u2019m excited to take this idea of
\nremix, of critique, and specifically of a critique through an intervening discourse, and apply it to
\nother projects throughout the rest of my academic career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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