The Star-Spangled Banner

The Star-spangled Banner, Denise Duhamel's Sixth Book Of Poems, Is About Falling In Love, American-style, With Someone Who Is Not American. In The Title Poem, A Small American Girl Mishears The First Line Of The Star-spangled Banner As José, Can You See?, Which Leads Her To Imagine A Foreign Lover Of An American Woman Dressed In A Star-spangled Gown. The Misunderstandings Caused By Language Recur Throughout The Book: Contemplating What Yes Means In Different Cultures; Watching Nickelodeon's Nick At Nite With A Husband Who Grew Up In The Philippines And Never Saw The Patty Duke Show; Misreading Another Poet's Title The Difference Between Pepsi And Coke As The Difference Between Pepsi And Pope And Concluding That Pepsi Is All For Premarital Sex. / The Pope Won't Stain Your Teeth. Misunderstandings Also Abound As Characters Mingle With Others From Different Classes. In Cockroaches, A Father-in-law Refers To Budget-minded American College Students Backpacking In Europe As Cockroaches, Not Realizing His Daughter-in-law Was Once, Not So Long Ago, Such A Student/roach Herself. With Welcome Levity And Refreshing Irreverence, The Star-spangled Banner Addresses Issues Of Ethnicity, Class, And Gender In America.