Whether it's a poem, a situation, or a specific person, we as a society are told to Don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge someone before you get to know it, or without discovering the underlying message. In Blues Spiritual for Mammy Prater by Dionne Brand and This Is a Photograph of Me by Margaret Atwood, both texts should be examined in depth before jumping to conclusions. Both authors incorporate photography to paint a picture for their readers. In doing so, Brand defines slavery through an artistic perspective and evokes aspects of time, physical appearance and his outlook on life, which brings to life the aftereffects of an ex-slave. In contrast, Atwood incorporates the same three aspects into her work and, as a result, the two texts are much more similar than initially thought. An important concept encrypted in Dionne Brand's lyric poem, Blues Spiritual for Mammy Prater, is time. Continually, the words “she waited” are repeated one or more times in each stanza. First, it's clear she waited 115 years, but why? They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and improving photography is one of the aspects that mom was waiting for to be able to receive the quality of the image that she wanted and deserved. “Her days of waiting for this photo were all that kept her sane, she planned it down to the day” (Brand, 42-4). After living 115 years of her life, she is considered a survivor for having survived slavery. Mammy Prater wanted to wait until she was free to take her self-portrait, because she did not want to be remembered and seen as a slave. . She had to make sure her eyes had seen her life and captured the world as it is.... middle of paper ...... for what she had done for herself and. for her future Advances in photography were a key factor in helping her absorb all of her memories, her values, her rights, essentially her life into a single image that would be seen by others like her. survival is possible. Margaret Atwood uses photography to her advantage by creating an image where the camera can initialize more than the person taking the photo, revealing that there is more to it. image than it seems. Works Cited Moss, Laura and Cynthia Conchita. Sugars. “Spiritual Blues for Mammy Prater.” » …….Canadian literature in English: texts and contexts. Flight. 2. Toronto: Pearson …….Education, 2009. Print.Moss, Laura and Cynthia Conchita. Sugars. “It’s a photo of me.” Canadian ……..English literature: texts and contexts. Flight. 2. Toronto: Pearson Education, …….2009. Print.