Emily M.'s response to Mixology

Mixology is exactly what it sounds like a collection of everything Adrian wanted to say and address thrown together. It is lines of lyric over lines of traditional poetry, mixed together with some urban slang and mixed race issues for good measure creating a new genre all its own. There is a pull from this book to its reader, that engages us from the very beginning with its rhythm and soul.

Adrian Matejka’s Mixology utilizes a generation’s music to as inspiration to tell the stories of that time. Whether it be a word, a line of lyrics, or a musician the rhythmic tone of this book cannot be denied. Poems like “Wheels of Steel” say it all, the passion of music of all kinds, the generational slang and references and the confusion of race, it is typical but never tiring, with a fresh set of lines and a new perspective every time Matejka takes his readers on a journey through a truly unique experience. Although he seems to identify most clearly with his African American heritage, Matejka struggles to find acceptance in urban culture as a mulatto. It seems to me that Adrian’s goal was to create a genre that emulated his mixed heritage by bringing together the more traditional language and the urban language. By referencing great rappers, blues musicians and black power figures in very traditionally formed poems he was able to lessen the gap between his two cultures. He at the same time puts this gap on display in poems like “Mullato Ego Remix” and “Language Mixology”, where the meanings of words and phrases are changed from culture to culture, leaving things lost in translation. “Half brother of the same halves, /simulacra is fancy for ‘absent.’/Like Banging means ‘good’/ or off the chain means ‘good.’” On page 76 Matejka brings his two halves together educating each half of his mixed race on the other half. Here he still identifies with his black side more than his white, but here his tone is not as resentful as it is in other poems where he talks about being a mullato.

Overall I think that his work was a successful piece. He was able to effectively bring together genres that seemed to distant from one another to create any real connections. His musical allusions and quotes made the piece fresh and relatable to his readers. The balance he was able to strike between these fiercely different language styles made it accessible and enjoyable. The rhythmic beat set the tone for the book perfectly as each piece followed its own beat and mirrored the musical figures and genres alluded to throughout the book.