is sugar the new tobacco. Understanding the impacts of sugar on our health is not an easy task. Food science is complicated and imperfect, but some level of confusion has been added in by sugar industry stakeholders who have spent millions over the past few decades to support studies that would produce desirable results for their industry. That's why a little historical journey will help us spot conflicts of interest and put current findings in perspective. Why sugar is a modern problem? For thousands of years, the human appetite for sweetness could only be satisfied by eating fruit or, when our ancestors got lucky, from the honey produced by wild bees. But around 2,500 years ago, people found that they could produce sugar by extracting and drying the sap of sugarcane. Producing and extracting sugar was time-intensive and challenging. This made sugar incredibly expensive. Only the rich could afford it, and still only in small quantities. By the 1850s, the world production of sugar was around 1.5 million tons per year, with new methods of sugar extraction and refinement driving prices down. As sugar became increasingly affordable, consumption rose to mind-boggling levels within just a few decades. How much sugar do we consume today? Today, the world production of sugar has climbed to around 180 million tons per year. On average, Europeans eat 30 kilos of added sugar per capita every year. That is a whopping 82 grams per day. As wealthier countries became more health-conscious, sugar consumption began declining in the 80s, while sugar consumption rose in poorer countries. Yet, compared to pre-war times, western sugar consumption levels still remain high. In Italy, my country, people would eat 9 kilos of sugar per capita per year before World War II. Today, that number has risen to 25 kilos. Why is there sugar in everything? Many of us will be shocked to read that Europeans eat that much sugar on average. While European families have been buying less household sugar over the years, sugar has been added in a lot of packaged foods for decades. Sugar doesn't come to us just in the form of sweets such as confectionery, sodas or biscuits. It hides in savory foods too. Pasta sauces, soups, spreads, stews, and even crackers and chips. Today, unless we read otherwise, no added sugar. We can assume that sugar is in the list of ingredients. And there's no mystery as to why sugar seems to hide everywhere. It simply is one of food manufacturers' best friends. It's not only its sweetness that makes it attractive, but also its cheaply added bulk, its solubility in water, and its ability to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. For these and many other qualities, sugar is a versatile ingredient and helps to produce foods that can both last long and taste good. Today, sugar is a booming industry, worth more than 63 billion euros in 2018. Early sugar research and the obesity epidemic. Until only a couple of centuries ago, people in the West were consuming low enough quantities of sugar to be considered irrelevant. So the effects of sugar on our bodies managed to go unnoticed for a long time. No one thought sugar could be bad for us. But during World War I, questions around the health benefits of sugar began circulating. Physicians speak up against sugar. Several US physicians signed a letter in 1918, suggesting a reduction of sugar in people's diets. According to them, sugar was starting to dominate a big chunk of our calories without bringing any other nutritional benefit. It wasn't until the 1950s and 1960s, when many more US men started to suffer from heart disease and obesity, that many began to question how sugar could be intrinsically bad for us. The link to heart disease, sugar versus fat. What was responsible for the rising weight and heart disease? Two physiologists had brought forward their own hypothesis. John Yudkin, British, hypothesized that sugar was the culprit of obesity and heart disease. In contrast, Ansel Keyes, American, thought excess fat was responsible for the increasing cholesterol, which would cause coronary arteries to harden and narrow, and so cause heart disease. Yudkin and Keyes were both trying to answer the same question, but they ended up with opposing theories to one another. While Yudkin thought sugar and fat could be both problematic, Keyes discredited Yudkin's theory as a mountain of nonsense. Instead of collaborating, the two ensued in a row of personal quarrels. The sugar industry ensued science. This is where the sugar industry enters the story. It's no surprise that Yudkin's theory threatened the interests of sugar companies and associations that represented sugar producers, processors, and refiners. To discredit Yudkin's sugar theory further, the sugar industry used his quable with Keyes. The British sugar borough dismissed Yudkin's claims about sugar as emotional assertions. The World Sugar Research Organization called his book Science Fiction. As the Guardian puts it, Yudkin wasn't just silenced, he was buried. Simultaneously, in the US, the Sugar Research Foundation's director suggested that the foundation could embark on a major program to counter negative attitudes towards sugar. This program involved funding studies whose research question had been carefully designed to either drive attention away from sugar or to assess the data in ways that could allow researchers to conclude that sugar doesn't cause disease. Here are some examples of how the sugar industry attempted to affect research and public opinion of sugar. Fat, not sugar, is responsible for heart disease. In 2016, a group of researchers exposed correspondence between the Sugar Research Foundation and some Harvard scientists from the 1960s. The correspondence demonstrated that the sugar industry funded research that turned attention away from sugar slink to heart disease toward fat and cholesterol as the bigger culprits. Industry funded amounts to the equivalent of a half a million dollars in today's money. Harvard scientists were asked by the Sugar Research Foundation to review available evidence that linked nutrients to heart disease. At the time, scientific evidence was still quite weak for both fat and sugar in their link to heart disease. However, when they published their review in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Harvard scientists downplayed the studies that pointed at sugars linked to heart disease but did not do so for the study that researched fat. On top of this, the scientists didn't disclose any conflict of interest as this practice wasn't compulsory yet in scientific publishing. As a result, the Harvard review was accepted uncritically by many. Sugar doesn't damage teeth. This is not an isolated case. To distract dental professionals from suggesting limits on sugar to prevent tooth decay, the Sugar Research Foundation also lobbied the National Institute of Dental Research to fund studies on causes of tooth decay that focused on the effects of literally anything but sugar. Vaccines, fluoride treatments, mouth bacteria, tooth brushing and any other possible cause. The result? In 1971, among the methods promoted by the National Carries Program to reduce tooth decay, there was no mention of exposure to sugary foods and drinks. Attempts to influence dental research are not just something of the past. In a 2019 article published in The Lancet, a group of oral health researchers have complained that the sugar industry is still influencing oral health policies and professional organizations through well-developed corporate strategies. Sugar doesn't make you fat. Using distorted research for marketing strategies, the Sugar Association managed to claim sugar's health benefits for decades. At some point, sugar was even positioned as a diet aid to counter obesity. Here are just some advertisements from the 1970s. The fat time of the day. You're really hungry and ready to eat two of everything. Here's how sugar can help. You've probably had people tell you they're avoiding this or that because it has sugar in it. If you want to see how much sense there is to that idea, next time you pass a bunch of kids, take a look. Kids eat and drink more things made with sugar than anybody.  I spoke with NYU professor of nutrition, health studies and public health, Marion Nestle, who by the way has nothing to do with the Nestle food company. In her book on savory truth, she has claimed that the sugar industry has been using the same methods applied by the tobacco industry to influence policy and public opinion for decades. These methods include casting doubt on the science and funding research to produce desired results or shift attention away from studies that condemn the health effects of sugar. But they don't stop here. The sugar industry has also been using courts to challenge critics and unfavorable regulations. Marion Nestle told me that the sugar industry is pursuing similar goals even still today. The sugar industry's goal in funding research is still to demonstrate that sugar has no adverse health consequences. That research demonstrating the contrary is so badly done that it should be ignored and that physical activity is a more important determinant of obesity than diet. The issue with industry-funded studies is that they tend to be more biased, intentionally or not. Several studies found that most industry-funded studies favored sponsors and their products. When looking at sugar sweetened beverages and their health risk, industry-funded studies were eight times more likely to produce favorable conclusions than those funded by known industry sources. Marion Nestle shared with me that, in general, industry-funded studies and opinion pieces tend to support the commercial goals of the funders. At least scientists are now compelled to disclose conflict of interest and funding sources. So this can help us put their findings in perspective. So is sugar really bad for you? Despite what the industry wants us to believe, the short answer is yes. Excess sugar is bad for you. The World Health Organization strongly recommends to reduce intake of free sugars down to less than 10% of total energy intake and even states that it would be better, if possible, to reduce it to below 5% of our total energy intake. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee gives similar indications, suggesting that in an ideal diet, added sugars would take only 6% or less. This means that for the average calorie intake recommended for males, 2,500 calories per day, sugar should not exceed 60 grams per day. For women eating a diet including 2,000 daily calories, that would be even less, around 50 grams. That's quite a lot less than the current European average, which surpasses 80 grams per day. Sugar's effects on our bodies. There are two fundamental reasons behind these recommendations. Too much sugar in our diets will at least lead us to develop cavities and to gain weight. But we have to be careful. Although it would be fantastic to have found the cause of weight gain, attributing the responsibility of a complex phenomenon such as obesity to a single nutrient would be a sloppy simplification. The majority of studies have actually shown that if you remove sugar from your diet but substitute the same amount of calories from other sources, your weight won't change. So sugars are not the cause of obesity, but one strong contributing factor. Some of us might have heard that sugar is linked to many other diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease and might be surprised that these links are not included in the reasons behind public health guidelines. However, evidence directly linking sugar consumption to other diseases is low and that's why health organizations can't include those arguments in their rationale until more robust conclusions are reached. Plus, the link between weight gain and many other diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer is already well established. This means that even if sugar is not directly linked to those diseases, if we overeat sugar and become overweight as a result, we're also going to increase our risk of developing them. The politics of the sugar industry. Regardless of the strength of evidence for specific diseases, today many of us believe that a healthy diet should include as little sugar as possible and the industry knows that. But in its struggle for a better public image, the industry has proven not to be a cohesive whole. Producers of sweetened foods and of different kinds of sugar have started to battle within the industry over which sugar or product is the worst and in turn, which one could be advertised as the healthiest? High fructose corn syrup. The US sucrose industry, for example, has been trying to identify high fructose corn syrup as the only evil around and to give you an idea of how far they went, high fructose corn syrup can't be legally referred to as sugar. If you dare to call it sugar publicly, you could be brought to court. Because high fructose corn syrup was much cheaper than sucrose, food processors put in every product they could since the 1980s, just as obesity numbers began quickly rising. But as soon as some early and far from conclusive research suggested that fructose would be digested in a different, potentially more harmful way than other sugars in our bodies, the sucrose industry took the opportunity to identify high fructose corn syrup as the new evil of the sugar world. To understand the argument against high fructose corn syrup, we need to understand its molecular structure. You see, high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are molecularly very similar. Both are made up of glucose, fructose and water. However, a molecule of sucrose has the same amount of glucose and fructose in it, while a molecule of high fructose corn syrup carries 5% more fructose than glucose. With this in mind, this is how the industry-supported reasoning goes. Some studies have concluded that fructose could be more harmful than glucose. High fructose corn syrup includes more fructose compared to sucrose. So high fructose corn syrup must be worse for you than sucrose. In reality, scientists claim that 5% more fructose does not represent a significant difference between the two types of sugar. And so both high fructose corn syrup and sucrose would present the same exact risks to the human body. Sucrose, or natural cane sugar, is not the healthy alternative to high fructose corn syrup, contrary to what the industry has been trying to convince us. It's also important to point out that many of the fructose studies administered exceptionally high doses of fructose to participants. So until we have research with more realistic fructose intakes, we can't quantify its impact on the human body in a reliable way. The take-home message from nutrition scientists is the same here. The problem is not one type of sugar against another, but too much total sugar consumption. For profits, or for people. The history of sugar research is not unlike that of many other foods. Conflicts of interest loom in nutrition research, and we need to build an intellectual toolkit to discern honest and unbiased scientific claims from bogus and marketing claims. First of all, we need to remember that science is slow and complex, and we often have to wait for several studies to reach the same conclusions over many years before we can be confident that a conclusion reflects what's happening in reality. The problem is that the slowness and complexity of science often can't compete with the simplicity of marketing concepts, specifically designed to be digestible and easy to spread, regardless of their truth. So when a single food or macronutrient is demonized as the soul responsible for many diseases, or some other food is celebrated as carrying the most wonderful healing properties, let's be on the lookout for who could benefit if we were to believe that. Let's inquire for a link to the original source of information, and then check at least the conflict of interest section. Knowledge is important. Now that most citizens in wealthy countries are aware that eating too much sugar is bad for us, the industry has accepted defeat and moved on to some extent. But in turn, they are now marketing most of their sugar-filled products to the poorer countries and minorities in wealthier countries, who don't always have the resources to make healthier choices. That's why once we've built our anti-bogus kit, we should share it as widely as possible, so that humanity as a whole can benefit from it. Only once we all know about the practices that the food industry uses to skew science and influence our opinion will our societies be vaccinated against and therefore immune to this kind of malpractice. Thank you for listening to this episode of our Food Unfolded Audio Articles. Has listening to this article given you a new perspective on marketing claims? Let us know on social media linked in the description box. This article was written and read by me, Sylvia Lazaris, originally posted on foodunfolded.com. Food Unfolded explores the stories behind the food on our plate, reconnecting us to the origins and sustainability of our food, co-funded by the EU and powered by EIT Food.


Back at South High School at the acuity field house. We're getting ready to wrap up half-time less than a minute left Lot of people scored, but nobody scored a whole lot Chris. Let's go through South first TJ pitch had two points Connor Harrison had four he led the Red Wings and scoring Tyler Gunther had to Sam Salke to Eric Tetelag hit a three and that totals out 13 points for the Red Wings For the Red Birds Tanner Herman had to Zach Rabbis had to Max Huddleston had to Aaron Vorpal led the Red Birds with the five points and now Brevin Pritzle Their all-state player had only four points didn't shoot real well But he's the force out there, but key thing is south is in the ballgame First quarter score 15 to 13 and you're reading off stats for after two 32% shooting for Depeer just 30% shooting for south You know you said yourself. Oh my gosh We scored 13 points in the in the half and then you look at the scoreboard normally down by two So that's a good thing and be patient Hang in there a lot of turnovers eight by Depeer two that was too many six by south My stat sheet set up where I have two columns to go down and usually that's enough I'll tell you tonight. I'm not even halfway down the first column No, we might be able to finish this game in one column. Yeah, and it's a fast game, too That guy's been a force. Yeah Vorpal has been a rebounding machine inside Gotta keep him off the board. You got to keep all of the Depeer off the board. Don't let him get those offensive rebounds You're bringing me a full court pressure Rob is guarding Harrison South with a chance right here to tie or take the lead Both teams have been sitting in the man-to-man defense. It looked like that very first trip down Chris like it might have been almost a box in one But I'm sure they were just in a straight man-to-man Remember that when you talked about they had a tall kid on pitch. Yep Yeah, you said yeah, they got a tall range you guy on pitch I think they're all tall and Reggie. Yeah compared to our guys Selk with an open jumper from the side couldn't get it in and Vorpal with the rebound set those feet and shoot. You don't have to he had time there Sam Harrison guarding Pritzel tries to slip through he does Passes it to the corner and Vorpal almost had the rebound we get another tie-up situation and Depeer will get it out of bounds Sophomore. Oh, Vorpal with a little half hook got it up and in that was a nice move Chris So Depeer cracks the first half the first score Harrison driving baseline couldn't get it Follow there. Yeah, I got the rebound put it up and in was followed. I think they're gonna get that on Brevin Pritzel, I believe I saw I Saw 40 Smiley Haymore. Yep. Smiley down there and the West Gadki Fall is on number 40 Max Huddleston Connor Harrison will be at the line shooting a pair Only two free throw a shot in the entire first half Chris Aaron Vorpal was one for two. No wonder it was only About 25 minutes a half A Little bit flat on the second attempt at 17 to 14 rebound number 11 for Vorpal. Wow good battle inside between Vorpal and wreck lightest a couple of big bodies in there and Depeer turns it over Not able to save it was Jordan Beyer They're gonna have to play a lot better if they're playing on Winning a lot of basketball games If you're gonna be the sixth-ranked team or fifth-ranked team in state Yeah, they got a switch inside recalitis had a smaller guy on them But they weren't able to take advantage of it. Maybe this time Recalitis with a half hook puts it in his first basket down by one Vorpal lean in off the glass no good Harrison with the board Pitch wanted it a little sooner. He was open wanted to take that three Rolling down to five minutes left in the third quarter Not very high scoring pretty defensive oriented until a self breaks loose underneath and can't get the layup These are the those are the ones you got a half touch log miss one in the yeah, recalitis Actually, I thought miss two in the first half, but now they're turnover Huddleston Walked out at the top of the key 10 turnovers for Depeer Don't expect that from a state-ranked team. No, not as just how they're doing them. They're just bad passes You know they show signs when they can turn up the wick a little bit, but seem like they're just going through the motions I guess after you play two-ranked teams and think you can take care of business That's when you can get knocked off by a senior squad like South has Huddleston's gonna pick up a fall And that'll be his second Jacob DeMille playing the tight defense on pitch Pretty good spacing by the Red Wings trying to open up the floor Patience Harrison down the lane nice nice left-handed layup good offensive attack there by South I like their patience and another turnover Depeer and South has the lead now 18 to 17 and the ball Realized they've only played three games Chris, but the Depeer lost on the road. There are only two wins are at home Yeah, they beat West and they beat Milwaukee Riverside who was ranked 10 a lot of contact there. Yeah, they're letting to play Patience there is a bump called Huddleston's gonna pick up his third Max Huddleston is a 6-6 sophomore He'll be stepping off the floor being replaced by Zach Rabbis who's a 6-5 junior So not a great deal of difference there. Jordan Barthol's in he's 6-2 Nice that's like trying to slide through had the shot look like it was blocked and then we get a foul inside should be shooting and Nuss, oh, I think they're gonna give it to him out of bounds Mill picks up the fall and that's the fourth team foul on Depeer Nice feed inside Harrison got it up and in 20 to 17 Harrison 4 of 10 from the floor Harrison with the seven points Give them make it nine Pritzel shot. Oh They're calling it a block Going off assault. I thought he got followed. There was no call Then they let him play on I'll tell you what the starting five assaulted an outstanding job I wouldn't keep them out long today Harrison doing a great job on Pritzel tonight Pritzel with a scoop shot couldn't get it, but he tapped it up and in good effort by him Brevin Pritzel with six points now. He's been Pretty silent in this ballgame south has done a good job of containing him three of nine from the floor. No threes There's some fouls there. Well too much dribbling. He shouldn't have been Three people. Yep feed inside baskets up and in by Barthol's And Depeer grabs the lead back at 21 to 20 Four straight points for them and we get a time out Earlier in the third quarter Chris South had a seven point run. They were down 17 to 13 ran off seven straight points to make a 20 to 17 But now Depeer has responded with the last two baskets At 220 left in the third What are you seeing? Well, you got them where you want them. You got your right with them They're not They're not Pritzel's not going off from three point. I think Harrison with his Body and stuff and his lanky body is making it difficult for Pritzel and Like I said, maybe you just don't Maybe they came down here thinking it's going to be a walk in the park and We mentioned before very young squad Depeer and very senior oriented South squad and Something to be said about, you know age and experience and playing in your own house I agree with you. I Agree with everything you said Because I'm hoping you buy the soda next week That'd be two games next week the mill really Amping up the pressure Whoever regards no one from outside left a little bit short Nice to have some of those fall Everybody but all of them fall. How about that? Pritzel shot from the side is no good. Oh I'm gonna call a jump ball and what looked like the mill over the arm of a touch log So I'll still have it out of bounds, but still here it is Now he's got it clearly and look at that.  He got a hand on Eric nice pass finish That's a lot off the glass. No good tap up is again. No good before coming away with the board is Zach Rabbis lot of bunnies missed Drive down the lane and to pier misses the bunny the interesting to see how they play the south Chris There's a minute just over a minute left Harrison from way outside couldn't get it in One thing neither teams made some threes Drive to the hoop the The peer player gets followed That was a Jordan Byer be at the line shooting a pair First fall on South Marty First one of the second half you're right goes on Miller Selk and Reese coming in Harrison and pitch coming out Wow Coach rank trying to give them a little extra time to rest I you know I Always think that you're gonna get a rest in a minute. Yeah, so, you know, I understand this extra time a little bit, but Was off a solid player catch log politicking with Repery that it went off of Vorpal, but no brakes there now rec light is right back in yep, and give now touch log a quick blow 53 seconds left And to peer up by two Drive to the basket is good You know you brought in your sub they turned the ball over Would you get that basket last basket on you know, I thought it was on number 30. So I didn't catch it Give it to Shot is up and in that one by Byers 20 seconds left 26 to 20 to peer on top Selk they're not gonna give him a shot they're gonna say he got followed before South will get it out of bounds with about 13 seconds left Chris, I think that basket that we missed was on was by number 33 Zach Rabbis. That's what I think too that Get your feet never mind the mill with a layup Just like that And then another turnover with 2.6 seconds left. It's all gone south for south and he's the last 40 seconds or so Connor Harrison right back in Touch log you get some defense back in there Oh We shot at the buzzer is no good And we're at the end of three quarters of play in what has been a very close game until the last minute of that third quarter It's now 28 to 20 to peer thumbs are some of the scariest things on the planet Every year an average of 6,000 people lose their lives to thumbs that are used to text while driving That means that your opposable digit is more dangerous than volcano sharks airplane jellyfish tigers lions tornadoes Rollercoasters hippo skydiving spiders and snakes texting while driving is more dangerous than all of those things So why isn't it one of your biggest fears? This video was submitted by a student through the teens drive smart program for more information on teen safety visit teens drive smart Dot-com for your treated for breast cancer get the facts women who are told about their breast reconstruction options report feeling in control and Experiencing a higher quality of life after cancer. I know because I am one of them I know because I am one of them. I know Because I am Before you undergo surgery for breast cancer get the facts make sure you know your breast reconstruction options for more information Visit bra day USA.org South open the third quarter with a seven-nothing run and went up 20 to 17 the pure was able to fight back They scored a couple of baskets to make a 21 to 20 and that's how it stayed for about three minutes then in the last minute of play the pure went on a eight-oh run and culminated the quarter with an 11-oh run all together Three-point basket is up and good by Zach Rabbis. I was just gonna say they're all for 11 from three and now they hit one Marty South shooting just 28% for the ballgame nine nine total baskets. They've had some good looks rectilitis with a layup couldn't even get it in and Rabbis with the rebound Peer 14 of 38 now almost 40 percent The mill picking up the fall is the number two Jacob de mill second personal sixth team foul one more fall and south will be shooting free throws There's only been four free throws shot the entire game The pure had a one for two trip back in the first quarter for the only two free throws of the half The pure had pardon me south had two free throws back in the third quarter It's 20 to 17 right Marty. Yep south was up 20 to 17 and it all happened in about two minutes last minute of the Third quarter and I'll start here. I misspoke for a minute there South was up 20 to 17 and the peer scored two baskets to go up 21 to 20 And it stayed that way for a few minutes and then when that last minute of play The pure ran ran did a seven-oh run to then tack on those four points made an 11-oh run in the third quarter And rec light is so we're gonna attempt it at a free throw couldn't get it in Score is 31 to 20 Peer on top Pritzels had a quiet night Conor Harrison's gonna pick up that fall Thousand number four Conor Harrison First personal third team foul. There's a turnover got a score here Selk oh my gosh while we Wide open layup by Selk and he couldn't get it in it's been that kind of night for the Red Wings You mentioned they had to play almost a perfect game They didn't even have to do that. They just have to play Okay Well the way the peer was turning the ball over in the first half you're right It's gotten a little better here in the second half, but still another one 14 turnovers For the peer South has just ten turnovers They're shooting 25% from the floor and you would think part of it's the length But I mean South's got some wide open looks and some layups Marty and they just Haven't put the ball in the hoop. I can think of at least five opportunities that were right near the Basket over the line they didn't go in and then rec light is is all for two on his free throws and the commits of Violation there. Yeah, I just should have let it go. He just tried to jump in there Give him a turnover on that Marty Yeah, you would and I think you I don't know you get a missed free throw Timeout up here Yeah, full timeout Scott.  Give us a break Getting out of the military. I was missing this camaraderie. It's frustrating when you try and talk to people that don't understand I still had the anger. I still had the addictions, but we didn't talk about that came to a point where it's like, okay I really need to talk to somebody about this family more or less encouraged me You know go go to the VA. It's okay to go get help. It's okay to talk to people because it takes true strength to ask for hope Here veterans real stories of strength and recovery and make the connection dot net There you see Mike rank talking to the troops Trying to coax them on the victory. It's been a Tough slug especially that Ending of the third quarter. That was a difference maker right there Well Tyson pitch comes into the game averaging almost 16 points game. He's has a deuce Gerald Rick Elias comes in averaging almost nine. He's got a deuce Of course Pritzels averaging 31 he's only got six The purest scored 31 that's a scoring average. Yep.  I was watching a Oh Jordan buyer. Yep. I was gonna say Marty. I watched a high school game that was on TV the other day on ESPN and That was one of the things that the Announcers said quite a bit. It's time for a shot clock in high school. They've talked about it It's been in the works matter of fact. They may have even tested it I don't know if it was Minnesota or another state, but you're right You know players are becoming skilled enough Well, I've watched it for years really really good basketball teams hold the ball at half court You know at the state tournament stuff and it drive me loony when I have a lead and that would take that away What you're gonna need is someone to run the 24 seconds shot clock So you need to have somebody in the table who understands the game and you know, that's a money thing as you're telling me to The mill with the tip away, but we got a whistle Well, this is the second Drought Marty the first quarter South scored two points and they sat on that two forever And now they're doing the same thing here They're stuck on 20 for about the last oh five six minutes of playing time and another miss free throw Jared's at a tough night at the Lion hole for three Preble player went down hard. I think that was Zach Rabbis yeah, he's trying to run the break look at underneath you can see him tumble over the south defender Good replay there Scott You got quite a crew here tonight We have Lacey Fister and Madison Brown Student helpers on camera Eric Weaseman is the assistant director Scott Mailoff is the The director Richard Bartzen is instructing on cameras as Max Huddleston scores a basket And we haven't even begun to talk about the announcers Chris Wright doing color Mike Martin. That's me doing play-by-play So cast of thousands Wow seven I Will say this I wish a brevin pretzel Would act like he wants to be here. I watched him in warm-ups and I Don't know just something about pride. I guess you know, I was One of the you know, I know Larry Brahan is the principal at Cooper years. He's here He's a big sports fan. He wants to come and see good players and You came here to watch him play I tell you I'd walk away. I went he doesn't press me a whole lot I mean I know he's good, but You know just to some some of it's the way you walk down the floor and now your hand on yourself He's barking at officials and if I was to have a criticism of Brevin tonight would be as Talking with the officials. Yeah, I didn't like that. But yeah His teams up by 16. He's not having a big night. Yeah, they're still winning. I know that speaks something for the team. Yeah, and He does bring a lot to the table. Oh, yeah, even if he's not scoring.  He does have a bunch of them, too He's got seven rebounds and I'm not asking for him to score 30 points, but it's just your demeanor on the floor I know what you mean Good cut by Miller and another miss layup South has gone about seven minutes going on eight now though it's scoring any points We had talked about this earlier. They scored early in the third and Went up 20 to 17 and now they haven't scored in a long time and another miss layup and another one Piles number 40 Max Huddleston Huddleston picks up his fourth like this Rick light is trying to get off the snide with his free throw shooting. He's gonna have two Checking in for Depeer number 35 Aaron Vopal Makes some of these free throws and lamps. Hey Chris. Yeah in the game instead. You're down 17 and Depeer isn't playing very well Hey One in that breaks the scoreless streak for Saul snaps it at about eight minutes That was a good call there foul there Files number 10 Tyler get the first personal fifth. I think we see Depeer play north, right? Yep, that's gonna be on January 6th He interested to see that Bob Huffman former student and player for me out at Children has a son who splits time between the JVs and the varsity Isaac Huffman He's number 20. Anyway, Bob stopped over to say hi He's gonna be at north full time out when they come down again. Hopefully he'll stop up by the booth and visit some more He was looking good, but it is the six because we talked about it at halftime January 6 They come back had to do a little politicking with Kerry to get that game That's I'm looking here salt plays at night two against East once again You have yet both Shavuigan teams at home on the same night doesn't make any sense does it? be interesting next year when East and West are out of the conference Little be a little bit of realignment. That's for sure Are they gonna do away with the? Divisions I Don't know Marty. I don't know what they're gonna do. They talked about keeping the divisions. I Have my theory on that No, you mean you have an opinion. Come on. Why don't we put ash wavin on Bayport? Depeer Pulaski Pulaski and Notre Dame together We'll call them the haves North-South Manitowoc trouble and Southwest Southwest I'll tell you south is amping up the pressure. Yeah But this is how you got to play all the time Marty, I mean If you're gonna do the trap Not with three and a half minutes left. Founds number three TJ pitch Second personal six. I tell you the starting five of south for that first seven minutes played tough and then Couple subs came in and didn't play as well as they did at the end of the first half The subs did a real nice job in the first half. Yeah, it's not so no so good in the second half And now we're gonna get in a free throw shooting contest It's a good thing the first three quarters went fast because these last three minutes won't hear us in Second personal hard to believe party. It was twenty to seven player teen Two points in the first quarter for south and one so far in the fourth That's like with a nice strong rebound 315 left in the ballgame 36-21 the peer on top purple coming down on the shooter pitch and TJ'll go to the line shooting a pair and I think that's exactly right Marty and as a young player He's gonna have to learn no number 35 when you're tall like that just be strong And you might not get that but when your hands go down like you said That's an easy call for an official, but when you're six foot seven just stand tall and Boy you may not get the call all the time But you know if you're a good a good official will make sure that they give the big guy a chance there two for eight from the line Three for nine Just slightly above their shooting percentage. Yeah, that's what I was thinking Whatever it is. It's not good enough The peer got a hold of a loose ball and called a quick timeout to keep the possession Well Pritzels complaining, but you know what Brevin you did a poor job there because you dribble dribble dribbled and you came right to your guy Yeah, and you threw the ball right to him. You're so close to him Well, that's where the self-defender is and that's why it was almost a turnover. I mean that was your mistake I know you're shaking your head and looking at things But I thought that was a poor decision by Pritzel there double dribbled into the pressure Which was okay, but before you get hammered on or not, you know get well You gotta give it give it up. He was right to almost could hand the ball to his teammate and by that time He didn't basically a lot of spacing was was lacking there And I was watching him. I thought I'd like the way he attacked with the dribble there See watch now look at how close he is well and Can't get rid of it right to the defenders so instead of two self defenders there. There's three Let's take a look at that schedule Chris see what we got after the north-south game Mentioned north-south is December 28th. That's next Saturday Then our next game after that won't be until after Christmas after the New Year It's January 6 and we mentioned that's when the tapir comes back to Sheboygan to play out north and Then we got the Lutheran Christian game coming up on January 13th The mill Little metal arc lemon routine Where he finally gets fouled Fouls number 22 Sam South first personal eighth team foul at the line jig of DeMille Let's see one two three four five six seven The pier is made four of seven So far They're up 37 to 22 a 15 point lead touch log with a six rebound South with nine baskets tonight Marty Pitch throws it away Tried to penetrate the defense and dish it out, but didn't make a good pass And then he picks up a fall DJ pitch third personal Checking in for the Redbirds number 40 Max Huddleston and in for South number 12 Matt Miller Mills at a nice game Chris little number two He's a four points Played the tough defense Scrappy out there Hunter Harrison's had a nice game. Yes, he has not only on the offensive end, but he did a great job on Pritzle a Really good job Rebounds that he had for the game so far Chris Pritzle on the block there Seven seven rebounds to go along with his nine points. That is a nice night. Yep Jump shot by pitches. No good And then not touch log with a quick fall Fouls number 33 error touch log their personal At the line Max Huddleston Huddleston will get two both teams now with Both teams are now over the limit Who would have thought yeah point lead when South was ahead and playing so well. I Would never have thought this They were up 20 to 17 and they now have 22 points to free throws She's about what was that's got to be like two points and close to 12 minutes Well, they had two points in the first quarter That's like forcing the action draws the fall one of nine shooting in the first quarter for south and here in the fourth They're all for six 25 Jordan Byer fourth personal in between they shot eight of 23 Which wasn't a lot better I was a little behind on Byer. This was his fourth fall. I had him for one Next Tuesday Plymouth comes into town north Checking it for South Sam South and Tyler Ginther the Nine ballgames in and then they get a big lay off before they Finish off the conference stretch south that is Pritzle a better job of handling the press that time Nice pass Brevin. Oh Hard fall by rec light is on huddleston. Well, he's gonna be okay Sportsmanship by Jared South's gonna fall to four and three and one up and one down in a league pretty good balance by Depear when you look up at the board now Chris DeMille with five by ear with six Robbis with seven and huddleston now with six and Pritzle was six. I mean granted, you know, none of them nobody's an extra in double figures But through the course of the game. I mean, that's just the way it goes nine of 14 for Depear at the free throw line They picked up their free throw shooting Would have thought you would have kept Brevin Pritzle the 27% shooting on the night just six points Still they're gonna get beat by 20 Right When about 25 minutes ago south was winning That's like pulls up from 12 can't get it in. I would not be falling anymore Files number 33 Eric Teshlaw Reese Michael Miller AJ Gutierrez Kyle Banny all waiting to check in Tyler Gunther Checking in the slew of redwings and redbirds. It's a good way to put it. Oh I like the double bonus stuff up there Marty. Oh, we That must be our graphics, man Eric Weisman Giving us that I don't remember I don't remember that ever. That's nice And checking in for the Redbirds number 20 Isaac Hoffman And Isaac Huffman in the ball game Isaac's dad is Bob former Chilton athlete student under a minute long three rims out Reese with the take away AJ had it Taken away almost AJ is a junior Banny Bango, baby. I was just gonna say are they gonna end the game the last 11 minutes without a basket That's about before that. That's what it would have been Wow That would have been yeah, right well One basket in the last 12 minutes as bad as not funny. He's a guy with tears We are now into the second roll Chris Finally Tanner Herman on the line. That's his first points of the night puts in a pair Tyson Reese You know even if he catches the ball, what is he gonna do with a 6-4 guy and a 6-2 guy standing around them? dribble-drive One foot from the basket And that's the ball game The peer showing why they're our Number five team in the state. Thank you for coming out. Yes But they do win it by a score of 45 to 26 We go through the scoring but there's not much to go through Harrison I think led all scores in the ballgame with his nine nobody else cracked that much for the peer but Salt took a tough loss Chris and it looked at the beginning through the first part of even the third quarter that they had a chance Well, they want one for nine shooting in the first quarter and you say oh my gosh We're totally out of it, but they weren't they were close at half got the lead in the third quarter and then the fourth quarter was another one of nine shooting and and When you're shooting two of 18 and two of the quarters, you're not gonna get it done. No, you're not One more time south the drops to drops a game that appeared 45 To 26 our next ball game will be December 20th. That's next Saturday when north travels To a south for the annual north-south game girls game will start at six Boys half an hour after that for the cruise got mail-off and Eric Weaseman running in the running the Stuff in the truck for our camera people Richard Bartson Lacey Fister Madison Brown and For my partner Chris Wright. I'm Mike Martin saying thanks for watching everybody. We'll see you down the road


Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Giovanni Singleton, Lunch Palms Coordinator. It's my great pleasure to welcome you all here today. First, I would like to thank the Alphonse Berber Gallery for hosting this month's Lunch Palms event. We really appreciate it. I want to first let you know about our upcoming readings. April 1st, we have Lisa Chen, who's a UC Berkeley alum. And on May 6th, we end the season with student reading. I also want to let you know that on our website, you can view this reading and all of our past readings as webcasts and also on YouTube. And we are just now on iTunes as well. The readings are typically posted within a week of the event. And we're also on Facebook. So do log on and become our friend. And now seriously, we'd love to have you. So please join me in welcoming Robert Hass, who will introduce this afternoon's distinguished guest, Natasha Tresway. Thanks, Giovanni. And thank you all for coming. This reading is the first in a series of five events that are happening around the publication of this anthology, Black Nature, 400 Years of African American Nature Poetry, a remarkable book edited by Camille Dunge, who's here, which includes some of the work of Natasha Tresway. The next event, and gathered here for this event, are about as exciting and distinguished a collection of poets as has been gathered in Berkeley in decades. The reading tonight is at 7 o'clock in this space. There'll be a reception to follow and give you a chance to meet the poets. Tomorrow, there is a panel with many of the poets that starts at 2 o'clock. And it's in Barrow's Hall on the top floor. And then the second reading tomorrow night at 7 o'clock in the Mod Fife Room in Wheeler Hall. It's an amazing collection of poets and events. And you will want to get to it. I thought about two ways of, I didn't know how to introduce Natasha Tresway and get out of the way quickly, because one part of me wanted to talk about her work in relation to this subject that we're going to be talking about, Black Nature Poetry. I was struck by it because one of the poems in Black Nature is called Carpenter B. And it begins in what you'll see is the plain, direct, quietly elegant language that goes with the powerful nature of her material and the sort of classicism of her instincts as a poet. All winter long, I have passed beneath her nest a hole no bigger than the tip of my thumb. Beautiful little three-line stanza that you can hear the shape and the dance of in a reading. Last year, before I was here, she burrowed into the wood framing my porch, drilled a network of tunnels, her round body, sturdy for the work of building, torped the cold months. She now pulls herself out into the first warm days of spring. And the poem, which I won't take you to, goes on to describe no longer being able to get into the place where she's laid her eggs. So it turns out to be what a lot of Natasha's work is, a meditation on memory, and a meditation on access personally, historically, politically, psychologically, and socially to what's been faced, repressed, or denied in our inner lives. Sweetness of the poem, to me, is that probably the first nature poem written by an American poet is a poem about a wasp being frozen to death slowly in New England in 1678 by Edward Taylor. Africans and Europeans got to the American continent in 1605. First poem that looks at a natural object and meditates on it is in 1678 and 400 years later in this tradition that Camille has traced in her anthology. Natasha is meditating on this subject. She was born in Gulfport, Mississippi. She grew up in Decatur, Georgia, partly. Is that right, Decatur? And Gulfport and Tulane University, where her father, a poet Eric Trethewey, was doing graduate work in New Orleans. And all of that world of the South figures in her work, one of her books she said was conceived when she was jogging through a cemetery. And I thought that, like the carpenter, Ant was another metaphor for the qualities of her work. The epigraph to one of the books comes from another Southern poet, Charles Wright. Memory is a cemetery I visited once or twice, white, ubiquitous, and the set aside, everywhere underfoot. It's that everywhere underfoot that shows up in a lot of her work. She went to the University of Georgia. She worked as a social worker for a year or more, then went to graduate school and got an MFA at UMass Amherst, during which time she got involved with the poets of the Dark Room Collective, Kevin Young, Thomas Sayers Ellis, very good and very exciting company, group of young poets that we have been reading ever since those days, I guess. And her first book of poems is called Domestic Work. We have a copy of it here. It won the Cave Canem Prize for the best first book of poems by an African-American writer. Her second book, Bellach's Ophelia, turns to her experience of growing up in New Orleans and in a deep way to this work of memory in a remarkable suite of poems, Storyville Diary, that imagine the world of biracial prostitutes in that bellapok where most of us know it from Louis Moll's film. You'll now know it from this haunting book of poems. The third book is called, I want to look again and say Native Guard because I want to say National Guard. The Native Guard was the term for the black military that was formed by the Union to guard for the state of Louisiana. And one of their jobs was to guard white Confederate prisoners on an island just off the coast of Gulfport, a story that does not get told if you visit that place. And Natasha goes to that story, goes to the story of her experience of growing up in Mississippi as the daughter of a white father and a black mother at a time when miscegenation was a crime in the state of Mississippi and goes to a story, a set of allergies that deal with the stories from her mother's life. It's a remarkable book. It, as she does, works in and semi-invents new forms of the blues, the blue sonnet, republic, I mean not the republic. What's the name of the, what is the name of the, it's not the villanelle. What's that other form you're worth? In the Pantoon, in that book. Repetitive forms that have to do with the cyclicalness of memory, forms that call on some of the deepest kinds of sadness and survival in American culture and the blues forms. And she speaks to, again, to these different layers, historical experience, personal experience, experience that it's as if William Faulkner had to invent Natasha Trethewey to tell the story of what happened after light in August to the issue of race in Mississippi. Anyway, it's thrilling to have her here today. Please welcome Natasha Trethewey. It's such a delight to be here. And I love the idea of thinking that it was indeed like William Faulkner who invented me. I mean, because the creation of such a possibility that a Mississippian like me would exist certainly comes out of Faulkner's world. Thank you for that lovely introduction. So, because I am here as part of this wonderful symposium about a very wonderful book, I thought that, and since I'm reading some nature poems tonight, I thought that today at lunchtime, I would try to read some poems that suggest the intersections between nature or the natural and what is rendered unnatural in its wake. My birthplace is Gulfport, Mississippi, along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one of those towns that was wiped out during Hurricane Katrina. And it's always seemed to me that that place is a perfect metaphor for this idea of historical memory and historical erasure. In the middle of the 20th century, they created the world's longest man-made beach on the Gulf Coast.  And of course, it was this very thing that left the coast much more vulnerable to the heavy winds of Hurricane Katrina. One of the things that always sort of bothered me after having turned in this book, I turned in my last book, Native Guard, to my publisher in March of 2005. And the very first poem in the book was very much a kind of figurative meditation on the impossibility of going home, going to these landscapes that we'd left behind, not because they had changed, but because we change when we go away and are constantly changing. But by August 29th, it became quite literal. I was actually sitting in a classroom at Duke University waiting to hear from my family. And Ragini is here from that time. So it feels like I've been taken back there in a way. So after that, the poem became quite literal. And I realized that what I had done, strangely, was to write an elegy from my hometown, as unnatural as that seems, before it was gone. Theories of Time and Space. You can get there from here, though there's no going home.  Try this, head south on Mississippi 49, one by one, mile markers, ticking off another minute of your life. Follow this to its natural conclusion, dead end at the coast, the pier at Gulfport, where riggings of shrimp boats are loose stitches in a sky threatening rain. Cross over the man-made beach, 26 miles of sand dumped on the mangrove swamp buried to rain of the past. Bring only what you must carry, tome of memory, its random blank pages. On the dock where you board the boat for Ship Island, someone will take your picture. The photograph, who you were, will be waiting when you return. This next poem has an epigraph from Robert Herrick that reads, fair daffodils, we weep to see you haste away so soon. Genus Narcissus. The road I walked home from school was dense with trees and shadow, creekside and lit by yellow daffodils, early blossoms bright against winter's last gray days. I must have known they grew wild, thought no harm in taking them. So I did, gathering up as many as I could hold, then presenting them in a jar to my mother. She put them on the sill and I sat nearby, watching light bend through the glass, day easing into evening, proud of myself, forgiving my mother some small thing. Childish vanity. I must have seen in them some measure of myself. The slender stems, each blossom ahead, lifted up toward praise or bowed to meet its reflection. Walking home those years ago, I knew nothing of Narcissus or the daffodil short spring, how they dry like graveside flowers, rustling when the wind blew, a whisper treacherous from the sill. Be taken with yourself, they said to me, die early to my mother. What is evidence? Not the fleeting bruises she'd cover with makeup, a dark patch as if imprint of a scope she'd pressed her eye too close to, looking for a way out. Nor the quiver in the voice she'd steady, leaning into a pot of bones on the stove. Not the teeth she wore in place of her own or the official document, its seal and smeared signature fading already, the edges wearing. Not the tiny marker with its dates, her name abstract as history. Only the landscape of her body, splintered clavicle, pierced temporal, her thin bones settling a bit each day, the way all things do. This poem relies a little bit on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Myth. I was asleep while you were dying. It's as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow I make between my slumber and my waking. The arabus I keep you in, still trying not to let go. You'll be dead again tomorrow, but in dreams you live, so I try taking you back into mourning.  Again and again this constant forsaking, my eyes open, I find you do not follow, you back into mourning, sleep heavy, turning, but in dreams you live, so I try taking not to let go. You'll be dead again tomorrow, the arabus I keep you in, still trying I make between my slumber and my waking.  Every year in Mississippi and a couple of towns like Vicksburg and Natchez, they host annual pilgrimages where people get to go back and explore the old antebellum mansions. They started doing this not long after the Civil War to raise money for the very devastated Southern towns. And so when they're all decked out with flowers, the women are decked out in their antebellum clothes and we get a taste of the old South. Pilgrimage, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Here, the Mississippi carved its mud-dark path, a graveyard for skeletons of sunken riverboats. Here, the river changed its course, turning away from the city as one turns, forgetting from the past. The abandoned bluffs, lands sloping up above the river's bend where now the Yazoo fills the Mississippi's empty bed. Here, the dead stand up in stone, white marble on Confederate Avenue. I stand on ground once hollowed by a web of caves. They must have seemed like catacombs in 1863 to the woman sitting in her parlor, candle-lit, underground. I can see her listening to shells explode, writing herself into history, asking what is to become of all the living things in this place. This whole city is a grave. Every spring, pilgrimage, the living come to mingle with the dead, brush against their cold shoulders in the long hallways, listen all night to their silence and indifference, relive their dying on the green battlefield.  We sleep in their beds, the old mansions, hunkered on the bluffs, draped in flowers, funerial, a blur of petals against the river's gray. The brochure in my room calls this Living History. The brass plate on the door reads, Prissy's room, a window frames the river's crawl toward the gulf. In my dream, the ghost of history lies down beside me, rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm. Scenes from a documentary history of Mississippi. One, King Cotton, 1907. From every corner of the photograph, flags wave down the main street in Vicksburg. Stacked to form an arch, the great bales of cotton rise up from the ground like a giant swell, a wave of history flooding the town. When Roosevelt arrives at parade, the band will march and from every street corner, flags wave down. Words on a banner, Cotton, America's King, have the sound of progress. This is two years before the South's counter march, the great bales of cotton risen up from the ground, infested with bull weevils, a plague, biblical, all around. Now, Negro children ride the bales, clothes stiff with starch. From up high in the photograph, they wave flags down for the president who will walk through the arch, bound for the future, his back to us. The children on their perch, those great bales of cotton rising up from the ground, stare out at us. Cotton surrounds them, a swell, a great mound, bearing them up back toward us. From the arch, from every corner of the photograph, flags wave down and great bales of cotton rise up from the ground. Two, Glyph, Aberdeen, 1913. The child's head droops as if in sleep. Stripped to the waist in profile, he's balanced on the man's lap. The man, gaunt in his overalls, cradles the child's thin arm. The sharp elbow, white signature of skin and bone pulls it forward to show the deformity, the humped back curve of spine, punctuating the routine hardships of their lives. How the child must follow him into the fields, haunting the long hours, slumped beside a sack, his body asking how much cotton, or in the kitchen, leaning into the icebox, how much food, or kneeling beside him at the church house. Why, Lord, why? They pose as if to say, look, this is the outline of suffering.  Three, flood. They have arrived on the back of the swollen river, the barge dividing it, their few belongings clustered about their feet. Above them, the National Guard hunkers on the levee, rifles tight in their fists, they block the path to high ground. One group of black refugees, the caption tells us, was ordered to sing their passage onto land, like a chorus of prayer, their tongues, the tongues of dark bells. Here, the camera finds them still, posed as if for a school day portrait, children lace fingers in their laps, one boy gestures allegiance, right hand over the hearts, charged beating. The great river all around, the barge invisible beneath their feet, they fix on what's before them, the opening in the sight of a rifle, the camera's lens, the muddy cleft between barge and dry land, all of it aperture, the captured moments, chasm in time. Here, in the angled light of 1927, they are refugees from history. The barge has brought them this far. They are waiting to disembark, for you are late. The sun is high and the child's shadow, almost fully beneath her, touches the soul of her bare foot on concrete. Even though it must be hot, she takes the step. Her goal to read is the subject of this shot, a book in her hand, the library closed, the door just out of reach. Stepping up, she must look at the two signs, read them slowly once more. The first one in pale letters, barely shows against the white background. Though she will read Greenwood Public Library for Negroes, the other bold letters on slate will lead her away, out of the frame, a finger pointing left. I want to call her, say, wait, but this is history. She can't linger. She'll read the sign that I read. You are late. You know, about 12 years ago, a little over 10 years ago, the state of Alabama voted whether or not to remove the anti-miscegenation laws from the books. And though they did vote to get rid of them, about 40 some percent of the population wanted to keep them, so that at least symbolically it could be said that parents like mine couldn't be married legally and people like me born legally in the state. Miscegenation. In 1965, my parents broke two laws of Mississippi. They went to Ohio to marry, returned to Mississippi. They crossed the river into Cincinnati, a city whose name begins with a sound like sin, the sound of wrong, miss in Mississippi. A year later, they moved to Canada, followed a route the same as slaves, the train slicing the white glaze of winter, leaving Mississippi. Faulkner's Joe Christmas was born in winter, like Jesus, given his name for the day he was left at the orphanage, his race unknown in Mississippi. My father was reading War and Peace when he gave me my name. I was born near Easter, 1966 in Mississippi. When I turned 33, my father said, it's your Jesus year. You're the same age he was when he died. It was spring, the hills green in Mississippi. I know more than Joe Christmas did. Natasha is a Russian name, though I'm not. It means Christmas child, even in Mississippi. My mother dreams another country. Already the words are changing. She is changing from colored to negro, black still years ahead. This is 1966, she is married to a white man and there are more names for what grows inside her. It is enough to worry about words like mongrel and the infertility of mules and mulattoes while flipping through a book of baby names. She has come home to wait out the long months, her room unchanged since she's been gone, dolls winking down from every shelf, all of them white. Every day she is flanked by the rituals of superstition and there is a name she will learn for this too, maternal impression, the shape like an unknown country marking the back of the newborn's thigh. For now, women tell her to clear her head, to steady her hands or she'll gray a lock of the child's hair wherever she worries her own, imprint somewhere the outline of a thing she craves too much. They tell her to stanch her cravings by eating dirt. All spring she is sat on her hands, her fingers numb. For a while each day she can't feel anything she touches, the arbor out back, the landscapes green tangle, the molehill of her own swelling. Here outside the city limits, car speed by, clouds of red dust in their wake, she breathes it in, Mississippi then drifts toward sleep, thinking of some place she's never been. Late, Mississippi is a dark backdrop bearing down on the windows of her room. On the TV in the corner, the station signs off, broadcasting its nightly salutation, the waving stars and stripes, our national anthem. Southern Gothic. I have lain down into 1970, into the bed my parents will share for only a few more years. Early evening, they have not yet turned from each other in sleep, their bodies curved, parentheses framing the separate lives they'll wake to.  The lines in my young father's face, deepened toward an expression of grief. I have come home from the schoolyard with the words that shadow us in this small Southern town, peckerwood and nigger lover, half-breed and zebra, words that take shape outside us. We're huddled on the tiny island of bed, quiet in the language of blood, the house unsteady on its cinder block haunches, sinking deeper into the muck of ancestry. Oil lamps flicker around us, our shadows, dark glyphs on the wall, bigger and stranger than we are. Incident. We tell the story every year, how we peered from the windows, shades drawn, though nothing really happened, the charred grass now green again. We peered from the windows, shades drawn, at the cross trust like a Christmas tree, the charred grass still green. Then we darkened our rooms, lit the hurricane lamps. At the cross trust like a Christmas tree, a few men gathered white as angels in their gowns. We darkened our rooms and lit hurricane lamps, the wicks trembling in their fonts of oil. It seemed the angels had gathered white men in their gowns. When they were done, they left quietly, no one came. The wicks trembled all night in their fonts of oil. By morning, the flames had all dimmed. When they were done, the men left quietly, no one came. Nothing really happened. By morning, all the flames had dimmed. We tell the story every year. I'm gonna read just a few newer poems that I've been working on. I got interested in a series of Mexican costa paintings by Juan Rodriguez Juarez, circa 1715. And these were paintings that represented the mixed blood unions that were taking place in the colony. And what was interesting to me about them is that not only did they purport to suggest this kind of actual taxonomy where you could imagine exactly what you'd get if you crossed this with this, but also that they created such a diverse group of terms to name the people that were included right on the paintings. I was also interested in the idea that people who were indigenous, their blood was considered pure enough that over a few generations, they could be purified to white but that the taint of African blood was irreversible so that you had names like mulatto returning backwards and hold yourself in midair and I don't understand you. Taxonomy, one, de español y de india produce mestizo. The canvas is a leaden sky behind them, heavy with words, gold letters inscribing an equation of blood. This plus this equals this as if a contract with nature or a museum label, ethnographic, precise. See how the father's hand beneath its crown of lace curls around his daughter's head. She's nearly fair as he is. Callidad, see it in the brooch at her collar, the lace framing her face. An infant she is born over the servant's left shoulder bound to him by a sling, the plain blue cloth knotted at his throat. If the father his hand on her skull divides as the physiognomist does, the mysteries of her character discursive legible on her light flesh in the soft curl of her hair. We cannot know it, so gentle the eye he turns toward her. The mother glancing sideways toward him, the scarf on her head white as his face, his powdered wig gestures with one hand a shape like the letter C. C, she seems to say, what we have made. The servant, still a child, cranes his neck, turns his face up toward all of them. He is dark as history, origin of the word native, the weight of blood, a pale mistress on his back, heavier every year. Two, the Espanol y Negra produce mulatto. Still the centuries have not dulled the sullenness of the child's expression. If there is light inside him, it does not shine through the paint that holds his face in profile, his domed forehead, eyes nearly closed beneath a heavy brow. Though inside, the boy's father stands in his cloak and hat.  We see him transient, rolling a cigarette, myopic, his eyelids drawn against the child, passing before him.  Her face so black, she nearly disappears into the canvas, the dark wall upon which we see the words that name them. What should we make of any of this? Remove the words above their heads, put something else in place of the child, a table perhaps upon which the man might set his hat or a dog upon which to bestow the blessing of his touch and the story changes. The boy is a palimpsest of paint, layers of color, history rendering him that precise shade of in between. Before this, he was nothing, blank canvas, before image or word, before a last brushstroke fixed him in his place. Three, de Español y mestiza produce castiza. How not to see in this gesture the mind of the colony? In the mother's arms, the child hinged at her womb, dark cradle of mixed blood, call it Mexico, turns toward the father reaching to him as if back to Spain, to the promise of blood alchemy, three easy steps to purity. From a Spaniard and an Indian, a mestizo. From a mestizo and a Spaniard, a Castizo. From a Castizo and a Spaniard, a Spaniard. We see her here, one generation away, nearly slipping her mother's careful grip for the book of castas. Call it the catalog of mixed bloods or the book of not, not Spaniard, not white, but mulatto returning backwards or hold yourself in midair and the Mariska, the Lobo, the Chino, Sambo, Albino and the Note Entiendo, the I don't understand you. Guidebook to the colony, record of each crossed birth, it is the typology of taint, of stain, blemish, sullying spot, that which can be purified, that which cannot, Canaan's black fate.  Call it the taint, as in it taint one and it taint the other, illicit and yet naming still what is between, between her parents, the child, mulatto returning backwards, cannot slip their hold, the triptych their bodies make, in paint, in blood, her name, written down in the book of castas, all her kind, in thrall, to a word. I'm gonna close now with two poems. This one is after a chalk drawing by J.H. Hasselhorst, 1864. Knowledge, whoever she was, she comes to us like this. Lips parted, long hair spilling from the table, like water from a pitcher, nipples drawn out for inspection. Perhaps to foreshadow the object, she'll become a skeleton on a pedestal, a row of skulls on a shelf. To make a study of the ideal female proportions, four men gather around her. She is young and beautiful and drowned, a venous demedici risen from the sea, sleeping. As if we could mistake this work for sacrilege, the artist entombs her body in a pyramid of light, a temple of science over which the anatomist presides. In the service of beauty to know it, he lifts a flap of skin beneath her breast as one might draw back a sheet. We will not see his step-by-step parsing, a translation, Mary or Catherine or Elizabeth, to corpus, a reola, vulva. In his hands, instruments of the empirical, scalpel, pincers, cold as the room must be cold, all the men in coats trimmed in velvet or fur, soft as the down of her pubis. One man is smoking, another tilts his head to get a better look. Yet another, at the head of the table, peers down as if enthralled, his fist on a stack of books. In the drawing, this is only the first cut, a delicate wounding, and yet how easily the anatomist's blade opens a place in me, like a curtain drawn upon a room in which each learned man is my father. And I hear again his words. I study my crossbreed child, a misnomer, the language of zoology, natural philosophy. In this scene, he is the preoccupied man, an artist collector of experience, the skeptic angling his head, his thoughts tilting toward what I cannot know, the marshaler of knowledge knuckling down a stack of books, even the disector, his scalpel in hand like a pen poised above me, aimed straight for my heart, elegy for my father. I think by now the river must be thick with salmon. Late August, I imagine it as it was that morning, drizzle needling the surface, mist at the banks like a net settling around us, everything damp and shining. That morning, awkward and heavy in our hip waders, we stalked into the current and found our places. You upstream a few yards and out far deeper. You must remember how the river seeped in over your boots, and you grew heavier with that defeat. All day, I kept turning to watch you how first you mined our guides casting, then cast your invisible line slicing the sky between us, then wrought in hand how you tried again and again to find that perfect arc, flight of an insect skimming the river's surface. Perhaps you recall I cast my line and reeled in too small trout we could not keep. Because I had to release them, I confess I thought about the past, working the hooks loose, the fish writhing in my hands, each one slipping away before I could let go. I can tell you now that I tried to take it all in, record it for an elegy I'd write one day when the time came. Your daughter, I was that ruthless. What does it matter if I tell you I learned to be? You kept casting your line, and when it did not come back empty, it was tangled with mine. Some nights dreaming, I step again into the small boat that carried us out and watch the bank receding, my back to where I know we are headed. Thank you.