Neither of these characteristics fit exactly with the definition of lyric poetry provided, yet this is precisely how Citizen challenges the idea of the lyric.
At face value, Citizen may seem to be a rather abstract approach to the lyric - the broad issues of color and identity in the face of systemic racism are addressed throughout a lengthy medium using experiences of an ambiguous narrator. In the Norton Introduction to Poetry, lyric poems are described as being “ … relatively short … focus primarily on the feelings, impressions, and thoughts - that is, on the subjective, inward experience - of a single first-person speaker” (Norton Introduction to Poetry 406). Despite its title, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is not the type of lyrical writing that meets the standards set by the past. Claudia Rankine’s work Citizen: An American Lyric serves as an example of this type of writing, where the lyrical style of writing is somewhat challenged through the introduction of specific practices. Innovative ideas are brought to well-known processes, altering the final product and, to a certain extent, testing the limits of the genre. Recently published pieces may not always adhere to the precedents of a particular style or form of writing. Relatively new works of writing, whether they be poetry or prose, oftentimes do not align completely with what has been deemed standard.
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