Claudia Rankine’s work “Citizen: An American Lyric” is a very interesting and diverse piece of work. It is fascinating to read and bounce from the different varieties and styles that Rankine employs. It takes a special kind of talent to change styles so frequently but make them work together. There is something jarring about some of the shifts in style, but at the same time it feels seamless and the varying styles really work well to complement each other.
I find particularly interesting the second chapter of “Citizen” in which Rankine in long form writes about tennis great Serena Williams. The style is basically that of a longform essay, but there is a meditative quality to the way Rankine writes almost in a stream of conscious kind way. Rankine is mentioning things that Williams has experiences and mentioning the context of the situations including comments from ESPN commentators. There is a journalistic element, but it’s not journalism Rankine gives opinion and deep reflection of Williams. The format itself is not fancy but there is something poetic and lyricial (not trying to make a pun) about her collection of thoughts on Serena Williams. The situation is not something that Rankine is directly experiencing but Williams clearly means alot to her and there is obviously a lot of common ground in the racial battles Williams experienced and Rankine’s background.