1. Gary Soto…A Latino Poet
“After Tonight”
by Gary Soto from The Elements of San Joaquin
A Hispanic Poet writing about what matter most to us all… living our everyday life with passion.
By Mrs. Marlowe

2. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Gary Soto was born in 1952 in northern California, in the city of Fresno. Soto was the son of Mexican-Americans, he “…was born into not only a Chicano culture, but also a culture of poverty” (Kellman, Magill). Before becoming a poet, he worked in the fields and in factories. Later, he attended college. After being married, Soto wrote his first book of poems, The Elements of San Joaquin, in which the poem, “After Tonight,” is featured (Kellman, Magill).
Gary Soto
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3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Gary Soto began writing poems in the 1970’s and continues today, a time period referred to in literature as Post Modernism.
In the 1970’s, the first computers were invented. Also, the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. In the late 1970’s, the first home computer was sold, an Apple. In the 1980’s, the Iran-Iraq war killed thousands. In the 1990’s, there was a mass killing at Columbine High School in Colorado. In 2001, terrorists hijacked three planes and launched the first terrorist attack on United States soil (Teen Web).

4. “After Tonight” by Gary Soto
Because there are avenues
You expect your daughter
Of traffic lights, a phone book
To be at the door any moment
Of brothers and lawyers,
And your husband to arrive
Why should you think your purse
With the night
Will not be tugged from your arm
That is suddenly all around.
Or the screen door
You expect the stove to burst
Will remain latched
A collar of fire
Against the man
Who hugs and kisses
When you want it,
His pillow
The Siamese cats
In the corridor of loneliness?
To move against your legs, purring.
There is a window of light
But remember this:
A sprinkler turning
Because blood revolves from one lung to the next,
As the earth turns,
And you do not think of the hills
Why think it will
And of the splintered wrists it takes
After tonight?
To give you
The heat rising toward the ceiling.

5. FORM AND STRUCTURE
The poem, “After Tonight” is a five stanza poem. Each stanza is a single, long sentence that almost requires one to hold one’s breath while reading. The first stanza is a question posed to the reader by the speaker. Four of the stanzas use the second person pronouns, you and your. By referring to the reader with these words, the poem seems more personal, like a conversation.

6. FORM AND STRUCTURE
The poem is unrhymed with no particular rhyme scheme or consistent rhythm. These characteristics give the poem a casual, informal tone, which fits the topic of the poem, the harshness and unexpected nature of life.

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THE POEM’S DEVICES
The poem’s devices are as follows: imagery, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and alliteration.
Imagery #1 “…the stove to burst”
Imagery #2 “…window of light”
Metaphor: “…a collar of fire”
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THE POEM’S DEVICES
The poem’s devices are as follows: imagery, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and alliteration.
Onomatopoeia“…to move against your leg, purring.”
Alliteration “…phone book of brothers”
Imagery #3 “blood revolves from one lung to the next.”
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9. THE POEM’S THEME AND MEANING
In “After Tonight,” the speaker refers to a series of unexpected turns that one’s life might take. These are turns no one hopes for, such as a loved one not coming home, or a mugging, or attack. The poem is set in a city, giving one the impression that the speaker sees life in the city as dangerous and on-the-edge.
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10. THE POEM’S THEME AND MEANING
The final stanza ends as the poem began, with a question, almost a warning of danger:
“But remember this / Because blood revolves from one lung to the next, / Why think it will /After tonight?” (Soto)
The speaker almost seems to be talking about the fragile nature of life.
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11. THE POEM’S THEME AND MEANING
He seems to be saying, just because one is alive now, does not mean someone is guaranteed that next breath. He warns the read of the dangerous turns one’s life can take in an instant. Such warnings are realistic, as life is fragile. Without warning, one’s life can quickly take a disastrous turn.

12. Works Cited