The Shock of Arrival: Reflections on Postcolonial ExperienceSouth End Press, 1996 - 223 pages In this book, acclaimed South Asian American poet and novelist Meena Alexander unleashes a fury of prose and poetry to confront the stereotypes and explore the challenges facing postcolonial immigrants in America. Commenting on the history of memory, language, shame, and exile, Alexander poignantly describes the wealth of experiences and imaginings that have shaped her life and writing. Her project: "to make space for what was crossed out in the decorum of femininity, in the high places of classical hierarchy, in the racism of a canonical knowledge, in the obliterations of a national memory ... all this is part of our task, part of the violent, fractured worlds that we must etch into beauty". |
From inside the book
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Page 36
... born , was Elizabeth Kuruvilla . She was born in 1884 and was active in the Nationalist move- ment , an ardent follower of Mohandas Gandhi , and the first woman member of the Legislative Assembly in Travancore . As a young woman she had ...
... born , was Elizabeth Kuruvilla . She was born in 1884 and was active in the Nationalist move- ment , an ardent follower of Mohandas Gandhi , and the first woman member of the Legislative Assembly in Travancore . As a young woman she had ...
Page 155
... born painter Hung Liu , the figures of women loom large . In her painting Tang Ren Jie , or Tang Peo- ple's Street , the canvas is split between the image of a Chinese prostitute , her face downcast , walking down a San Francisco street ...
... born painter Hung Liu , the figures of women loom large . In her painting Tang Ren Jie , or Tang Peo- ple's Street , the canvas is split between the image of a Chinese prostitute , her face downcast , walking down a San Francisco street ...
Page 161
... born artist . In her acrylic , oil and col- lage piece on canvas , How Mali Lost Her Accent , the poignant fig- ure ... born Toi Ungkavatanapong ; the fierce metal bed jutting off the wall at an impossible angle , forged by the China ...
... born artist . In her acrylic , oil and col- lage piece on canvas , How Mali Lost Her Accent , the poignant fig- ure ... born Toi Ungkavatanapong ; the fierce metal bed jutting off the wall at an impossible angle , forged by the China ...
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aesthetic America artist Ashtamudi Lake Asian Asian-American art Balamaniamma bits blood born breath British burning child cloth colonialism cried culture dance dark death decolonization Delhi dharma Draupadi dream earth edge English eyes face feminine fierce figure filled fire flesh forced Frantz Fanon Gandhi garden girl hair hands Hashmi head Hyderabad imagination India Kathakali Kerala Khartoum Lalithambika language light lines living Malayalam maternal Meena Alexander memory mother mouth Native American never painted Parasurama passion poem poet poetry political postcolonial published river rock Safdar Hashmi San Andreas Fault sari Sarojini Naidu sense sexual shock of arrival Sita skin Skin Song snow Song soul space speak speech stone street struggle tell Tethi Thankam things thought tion Tiruvella tongue torn trees turned Vasco da Gama violence voice walking wall window woman words writing young