"Quantum" & "Hunger"
The people unrooted from their own histories, devourers of others, and general colonizers were known as this. ("Hunger")
What is "The Empty People"?
Guante emphasizes that this form of poetry is not a modern invention but has deep roots in oral traditions, making it both ancient and contemporary.
What is spoken word poetry?
The First White President
Who is Donald Jonald Bonald Trump?
This narrative structure mirrors the title’s format by organizing identity fragments like dictionary entries, reflecting the author’s attempt to categorize the selves she was told to try to attain and reflections of her family's rejection.
What is an encyclopedia?
This object, tied around the narrator’s neck and never to be touched, functions as a boundary, mystery, and source of conflict.
What is the green ribbon?
By "Quantum"'s end, when the creature crawls to Amber’s door, it’s revealed that the “something” she brings inside is actually this.
Who is Sammy, her disfigured and forgotten son?
In his poem, Guante compares white supremacy to this, indicating it's pervasive and systemic, not just individual acts of racism.
What is "the ocean"/"the water"?
Coates identifies this ideology as Trump’s core belief system - not a lack of ideology, but a devotion to racial hierarchy.
What is white supremacy?
This household figure’s expectations and sacrifices loom over the narrator’s sense of duty and guilt, shaping what kind of “daughter” she’s allowed to be.
Who is the mother?
By the story’s end, when her husband finally unties the ribbon, this is what happens to the narrator.
What is "her head falls off"?
A mythical being from the folklore of Indigenous peoples of North America, often depicted as a monstrous, emaciated giant with an insatiable hunger for human flesh, or a spirit that possesses people.
What is a Wehtigo (wendigo)?
Guante defines this as clear, enthusiastic, and ongoing communication between partners, ensuring mutual agreement without ambiguity.
What is consent?
This is the author of this piece.
Who is "Ta-Nehisi Coates"
This cultural role (idealized as obedient, modest, and family-first) is both the anchor and the constraint Villarreal pushes against.
What is the "good daughter" archetype?
In a metafictional move, the narrator references this storytelling rule.
What is "brides (women) in stories are often punished or doomed"? or
What is "stories can sense happiness and snuff it out like a candle"?
"Quantum"'s title and events serve as a metaphor for this disturbing idea - that a person’s worth and identity can collapse into mere fractions.
What is the dehumanizing logic of blood quantum (measuring identity by percentage)?
In his poem, Guante uses this extreme scenario to emphasize the importance of clear consent, likening it to ensuring safety in high-risk situations.
What is skydiving?
In contrasting the compassionate response to the opioid crisis with the punitive response to the crack epidemic, Coates exposes this racialized double standard. - (This problem of the system is also covered in "Know Your Whites" and The New Jim Crow)
What is systemic bias/systemic racism in politics, empathy, and punishment? (or an answer close to it)
These are the people who robbed Vanessa when she went to Austin in 2003, hoping to run into her ex-boyfriend.
Who are the state troopers? (Police/Cops)
After giving birth, the narrator’s husband asks this, underscoring the tale’s horror about ownership of her body.
What is “how much to get that extra stitch?”
This action is often taboo in Native American, Latin American, and Hispanic Cultures (especially in the more indigenous communities) as it may call on evil spirits.
What is "Never Whistle at Night"?
Guante advises against this common pre-performance habit, suggesting poets should let their work speak for itself without disclaimers.
What is apologizing before performing?
(According to Coates) Trump’s true legacy will be revealing this illusion: the false civility that once disguised the depth of racial power in American politics. (This will probably not make sense to you because you're so young.)
What is the myth of living in a post-racial America?
The phrase she remembers most from childhood. The one with fear behind it. ...so men can't hurt her...so America can't deny her. ...to remain invisible and stay.
What is Portate bien (Be Good)?
Machado uses the ribbon as a potent symbol of this paradoxical condition: something that is hers yet remains mysterious to all, and becomes a site of control and violation.
What is autonomy over her body (or secret possession / boundary)?