Forwarding: hooks and Anzaldua *revised

I found reflecting on my own style of writing difficult to do.  I knew what I liked to write and who I liked to write for, however I had no idea how to describe my style.  This required further self-reflection, which was aided upon reading the assigned passages by bell hooks and Gloria Anzaldua. I began to realize and shape my style by borrowing ideas that truly resonated with me.
 

bell hooks’ piece, Memories of my girlhood  inspires such emotion, which is a goal of my writing.  I find writing poetry to be an outlet for ideas I am passionate about.  I construct sentences that demand to be read aloud, to be heard and absorbed, which I came to realize upon reading bell hooks Remembered Rapture: Dancing with Words. “Performing the words, to both hear and feel them, I want to be certain I am grappling with language in a manner where my words live and breathe, where they surface from a passionate place inside me.”  This passion in my writing has been limited to poetry, however I can now apply this to writing in other settings.  bell hooks, a critical writer in most of her published work, puts as much passion and care into critical writing as she would poetry or writing that is viewed as more creative.  I was always taught that emotion and passion was solely for this creative writing, such as my poetry. I will develop my style and use this passion in all of my writing, including critical and academic works.  However, using emotion in writing that is considered more academic raises issues.  People may view this as unprofessional or unacceptable. When writing, it is important to constantly have your audience in mind.  This writing can never have the effects that you intend if it offends or puts of your target audience. In my own writing, my goal is usually to  make a statement, to open the readers eyes on an issue or perspective that I find unjust or in need of attention. Gloria Anzaldua mentions this on writing for change: "It's kind of like a fish in the Pacific Ocean, with the analogy that the Pacific ocean is the dominant field and the fish is this postcolonial, this feminist, or this queer, or whoever is trying to make this change." It is evident that the fish has to work against the powerful and vast ocean in order to achieve the desired change.  As a result, the change intended will not result from my writing until I put effort into it and adapt the message for the audience I am trying to reach.  If I am writing a piece about the detriments of heteronormativity on America's youth for an audience who knows nothing on the subject, I will not open any eyes to this issue if the style not easy to understand and explanatory.  This would be detrimental because these are the people who most need to hear this message. By combining these two ideas from both hooks and Anzaldua, I now can apply this to my writing by including the emotion and passion I normally save for my creative works, while also keeping my audience in mind while writing.