Butter

Alexander was born in New York City and moved in early childhood to Washington, DC. Her upbringing reveals a wide range of influences, both geographical and political, with ties to both New York and the American South—or “Up South,” a distinction often given to Washington, DC, a name which indicates a geographic location that sits in proximity to northern states but shares cultural elements common among more southern states.

In “Butter,” Alexander’s speaker takes the reader on a tour of culinary influence in the American menu. The speaker’s childhood experience with food, perhaps autobiographical, covers quite a bit of ground. The “turkey cutlets sauteed in lemon / and butter” (Lines 5-6) suggest the cook knew their way around French technique. The “butter and cheese on green noodles” (Line 6), though easily categorized as a kid-friendly dish, gives a nod to Italian cuisine with its pasta colored with spinach or another leafy ingredient. The “Yorkshire puddings” (Line 8) are unequivocally British. The metaphorical and so-called melting pot of America is right here on the table—a mix of Jeffersonian travels, British colonial history, and decades of immigration.

Alexander’s speaker moves deeper into specific territory with her gravy-less rice and her hominy grits. While “sweet potatoes” (Line 15) are by no means exclusive to the South, they enjoy a stronger tradition there than in the northern US. The sweet stuff that drenches the pancakes along with the butter—“Alaga syrup” (Line 18)—is a staple on traditional southern tables. Indigenous cultures appear with the ears of corn, as well as with the hominy. (Hominy is produced by a process in which dried maize is treated with an alkali, a process known as nixtamalization, from the Aztec word, nixtamal, or hominy.) “[V]olcanoes” (Line 11), while existent in the Pacific Northwest, are features of Hawaii, as is “pineapple” (Line 15).

As the daughter of a former US Secretary of the Army and a university professor, and granddaughter to two internationally renowned surgeons, Alexander grew up with access to a broad range of influences. Her parents’ and grandparents’ participation in civil rights issues and politics reflects deeply in her own involvement as a scholar and supporter of literature and culture, particularly African American art and culture. In “Butter,” the reader learns of the speaker’s mother’s love of butter, and of the speaker’s “parent’s efforts” (Line 24). One perspective is that butter represents parental love and the desire to feed one’s child only the best, most delicious things. However, no matter how free one’s access is to the good stuff, to joy, racism persists.