A Summary Response on “The Voices of Hurricane Katrina: Part I” by Abe Louise Young.
“The Voices of Hurricane Katrina: Part I,” is a text written by Abe Louise Young, where the survivors of Hurricane Katrina are remembered as a result of Raymond McDaniel, who has used their stories to write a poem for personal benefit without their consent. According to this statement, hurricane Katrina is a disaster that occurred in the United States, where it damaged Orleans city and killed most of its inhabitants. Consequently, the survivors have gotten less help, which has forced them to continue suffering. However, McDaniel has used the stories of these survivors to come up with his poem called “Saltwater Empire” without their consent, “. . . as the centerpiece poem of Saltwater Empire, without contacting the project or the survivors” (Young 2). According to this statement, McDaniel has secretly used the stories of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina for his gain without crediting them.
In my opinion, McDaniel went against the ethics of poetic appropriation, which was wrong. This claim implies that; the author of the Saltwater Empire did not follow the ethics of poetry since he inappropriately used the stories of others to develop his work for personal gain. Besides, I am against the action of this poet since the inability to contact the survivors of Hurricane Katrina limited the control of their horrible stories, hence making them feel hurt, “he used my life without giving me no credit! That hurts my heart” (Young 8). Other poets, therefore, should use McDaniel as an example to learn the importance of using the stories of others appropriately by getting their consent. If possible, they should give them some credit. This statement indicates that legal poem development procedures should be strictly followed to limit offending others, especially those who have encountered horrible occurrences.