How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"My poems aren't about that. Fame-seeking poems. They's the people's art," although yesterday she didn't want to have anything to do with "the people." (12.24)
It's clear that art is important to Cecile. Part of what drives her to write poetry, though, is also about access to and representation in art. Her poetry is for and about the people in the streets fighting for equality instead of the kind that belongs tucked away in quiet libraries.
Quote #2
Although no one thinks I can, I remember a time when smoke filled the house. Not coughing smoke but smoke from a woman's smooth-voiced singing, with piano, bass, and drums. All together these sounds made smoke. (13.4)
Music filling the air, words cluttering the walls—Delphine remembers her mom being around through the art that she produced. It's not until later that she realizes there's something weird about a grown woman writing on the walls. Art is a part of Cecile, more so than her family even.
Quote #3
When Brenda and the Tabulations sang "Dry Your Eyes," my sisters and I imagined they sang about a mother who had to leave her children. […] So I sang the la-la-la part with Fern, making a nice wall around us, to keep that laughing Ankton girl on the outside. (14.20)
The girls sing as a way of expressing themselves. Did you notice how they interpret the songs so that it's about their current situation? Instead of just singing a song, they think about its meaning and apply it to their lives. Suddenly every song is about a mom leaving her kids, just like Cecile did with them.