Letter to a Photojournalist Going In

Overview

• "Letter to a Photojournalist Going-In" by Tracy K. Smith is from her 2007 collection Duende.
• The poem addresses the emotional and ethical challenges faced by war photographers.
• Written as a direct letter, it reflects on the photojournalist's experiences in conflict zones and the personal toll of their work.
• Themes explored include trauma, love, and the cost of witnessing human suffering.
• The poem moves from a vivid depiction of the photographer's dangerous work to a more intimate reflection on their relationship and the challenges of sustaining love amidst destruction.

Detailed Summary

Stanza 1:

The poem begins with the speaker directly addressing the photojournalist: "You go to the pain. City after city. Borders / Where they peer into your eyes as if to erase you" (lines 1–2). These opening lines establish the brutal reality of the journalist's job, moving from one site of conflict to another. The description of the guards at borders "peering into your eyes" suggests dehumanisation and a loss of individuality, setting the tone for the emotional strain of their work.

Stanza 2:

Smith vividly describes the violence captured by the journalist's camera: "Soldiers smoking between rounds. Bodies / Blown open like curtains" (lines 7–8). The imagery of bodies as "curtains" is both shocking and surreal, emphasising the unnatural and grotesque nature of war. The boys with plastic guns in "TV bravado" (line 9) add a chilling layer of irony, reflecting how even children are pulled into the theatre of violence.

Stanza 3:

At night, the journalist is haunted by the scenes they have witnessed, "playing it all back in reverse" (line 11). Smith describes a surreal process where objects and people from destroyed neighbourhoods are "resurrected, then disappear" (lines 13–14), highlighting how memories of war defy logic and persistently intrude on peace.

Stanza 4:

The speaker reflects on the tension between their relationship and the journalist's work. She questions the difficulty of balancing two conflicting emotions: "Who can hear two things at once?" (line 16). The line suggests the strain of trying to love someone whose heart is divided between personal relationships and the horrors of their work. The imagery of "Errant stars flare, shatter" (line 18) evokes battle scenes, mirroring the destruction that threatens their connection.

Stanza 5:

The poem shifts to a philosophical tone, questioning the value and dignity of the journalist's work: "And what if there's no dignity to what we do, / None at all?" (lines 22–23). This existential doubt reflects the speaker's frustration and fear that their personal and professional sacrifices might be meaningless.

Stanza 6:

The speaker addresses the photojournalist's relationship with their camera, asking whether it is a tool of love or destruction: "Will you take it to your lips / Like the body of a woman, something to love in passing" (lines 27–28). This metaphor questions whether the camera connects the journalist to the world or isolates them further by objectifying their experiences.

Stanza 7:

The final stanza reveals the speaker's vulnerability: "Sometimes I want my heart to beat like yours: from the outside in" (line 32). The speaker envies the journalist's ability to suppress emotions while feeling overwhelmed by her own. The poem closes with the ominous image of "A locket stuffed with faces... / To land at my feet like a grenade" (lines 34–36), suggesting that the emotional toll of their relationship may eventually explode and shatter them both.

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Themes

The Trauma of Witnessing

The poem explores the emotional toll of documenting violence and human suffering. The photojournalist is described as enduring endless scenes of destruction, "City after city. Borders / Where they peer into your eyes as if to erase you" (lines 1–2). This highlights not only the physical dangers of their work but also the mental scars that accumulate over time. The phrase "Bodies / Blown open like curtains" (lines 7–8) vividly conveys the dehumanising and grotesque nature of what the journalist witnesses. These scenes haunt them, as seen in "At night you sleep, playing it all back in reverse" (line 11), where memories become an inescapable torment.

The Cost of Love

The speaker reflects on the difficulty of maintaining a relationship with someone whose life is so intertwined with death and destruction. The line "Who can hear two things at once?" (line 16) encapsulates the strain of balancing love and work, as the photojournalist's focus on their job makes it hard for them to fully engage in their personal relationships. The speaker envies their partner's detachment, admitting, "Sometimes I want my heart to beat like yours: from the outside in" (line 32). This tension reveals the sacrifices made in love and the emotional distance that their differing experiences create.

The Purpose of Work

The poem questions the meaning and value of the photojournalist's work in the face of unrelenting violence. The speaker asks, "And what if there's no dignity to what we do, / None at all?" (lines 22–23), expressing doubt about whether their sacrifices genuinely make a difference. The metaphor of the camera as "a hollow box, mechanized to obey" (line 30) challenges the notion of photography as an art or act of love, framing it instead as a potentially cold and mechanical task. This existential questioning highlights the difficulty of finding purpose in such emotionally draining work.

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Structure and Form

1. Free Verse

The poem is written in free verse, with no fixed rhyme scheme or metre. This lack of structure mirrors the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the photojournalist's experiences and the speaker's emotions. The open form allows Smith to freely explore shifting tones, from vivid descriptions of war zones to reflective, intimate moments.

2. Uneven Stanzas

The poem is composed of seven uneven stanzas, ranging from short bursts of intense reflection to longer passages of imagery and questioning. For example, the brevity of the final stanza ("To land at my feet like a grenade") delivers an impactful conclusion, emphasising the speaker's emotional fragility and the explosive tension in their relationship.

3. Enjambment

Smith uses enjambment throughout the poem to create a sense of momentum and fluidity. For example: "At night you sleep, playing it all back in reverse: / The dance of wind in a valley of dirt" (lines 11–12).

The flowing lines reflect the endless cycle of memories and the overwhelming weight of the photojournalist's work, allowing the reader to experience the continuous, unrelenting nature of their thoughts.

4. Shift in Focus

The poem moves from a stark depiction of the photojournalist's external experiences to an intimate reflection on their relationship. The shift begins at line 16, where the speaker recalls their partner's struggle to balance love and duty: "Who can hear two things at once?" This structural change emphasises the dual focus of the poem—on the horrors of war and the emotional costs of proximity to it.

5. Open-Ended Conclusion

The poem ends with the haunting image of "A locket stuffed with faces... / To land at my feet like a grenade" (lines 34–36). This unresolved and explosive metaphor encapsulates the precariousness of their relationship, leaving the reader with a sense of unease and reflection on the fragility of human connections in the face of trauma.

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Poetic Techniques

1. Vivid Imagery

• "Bodies / Blown open like curtains" (lines 7–8): This shocking image captures war's grotesque and unnatural violence, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. It underscores the dehumanisation that the photojournalist witnesses daily.
• "The dance of wind in a valley of dirt. Rugs and tools, / All the junk that rises up, resurrected, then disappears" (lines 12–14). This surreal imagery portrays how memories of destruction haunt the photojournalist, bringing the aftermath of war to life. Effect: The use of vivid, often unsettling imagery immerses the reader in the harsh realities of war while reflecting the psychological toll it takes on those who document it.

2. Metaphor

• "Your camera blinks" (line 6): The camera is personified, suggesting that it becomes a silent witness to the atrocities of war, capturing moments that the human eye cannot fully process.
• "A locket stuffed with faces... To land at my feet like a grenade" (lines 34–36): The locket symbolises the emotional weight of the journalist's memories, while the grenade metaphor conveys the potential for these emotions to explode, destroying their relationship. Effect: These metaphors convey the tension between documentation and detachment, highlighting the emotional burden of capturing human suffering.

3. Repetition

• "Everything – everything – pushes back" (line 20): The repetition of "everything" emphasises the overwhelming nature of the destruction and despair the photojournalist faces, conveying a sense of futility.
• "None at all? If our work – what you see, what I say – is nothing" (line 23): The repetition of "what" reinforces the speaker's doubt and existential questioning about the value of their work and sacrifices. Effect: Repetition draws attention to the key emotional moments in the poem, emphasising the speaker's frustration and inner turmoil.

4. Rhetorical Questions

• "And what if there's no dignity to what we do?" (line 22) This question challenges the photojournalist (and the reader) to consider whether their work has meaning or value.
• "Who can say the word love?" (line 19): This poignant question captures the difficulty of maintaining emotional intimacy in the face of constant exposure to violence and trauma. Effect: The rhetorical questions invite the reader to engage with the speaker's philosophical struggles, creating a personal and reflective tone.

5. Personification

• "Your camera blinks" (line 6): The camera is personified as if it were alive, suggesting that it has its own role in witnessing and recording the horrors of war.
• "The land went on living, / Dying" (lines 32–33): The land is given human characteristics, reinforcing the idea that life and death continue regardless of human suffering. Effect: Personification blurs the lines between the human and the mechanical, and between life and death, highlighting the complex dynamics at play in the photojournalist's work and personal life.