Tracy K. Smith writes haunting poems that projects herself as a judicious agency of the collective unconsciousness, and a great sense of unknown vastness and uncertainty. There are themes of race, politics, and meditative speech throughout "Life on Mars." She speaks largely the conception of what it means to be American, in addition to attached to particular religious, political, and economic statuses. She often comments on the decline of culture and de-evolution on the human race. She deals with the parse dichotomy between irrationality/illogical notions and the 'ordered' world. Her poetry leads the reader into experiences that expand their understanding of a vast variety of topics and conflicts.
One of Tracy's poems that I liked the most was Cathedral Kitsch. Kitsch refers to something of showy cheap design, appearance, or content crated to appeal to the popular on nondiscriminatory taste. I thought the connection between things 'kitsch' and grandiose embellished cathedrals. However, I did not agree with her assigning a specific gender to God, unless it was intentional to the meaning of the poem. It is interesting that churches are intended to make you feel like a community and secure, however many of them are built so vast and tall that they end up making you feel small and insignificant. I believe it was a commentary on the major expenses poured into architecture and possibly the some of the corruption within the church in the recent years. He also references the organ of the church as an ominous presence. I had difficulty comprehending the last two lines of the poem.
I also thought Cathedral Kitsch was really interesting poem but also hard to comprehend. I feel that literature trying to explore the attributes and personality traits of God are always confusing. In this poem though I feel that the delivery and flow is much more dynamic in its attempt though.
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