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". |
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Page 70
... eyes . " They told my mother she couldn't . ' ' Your mother ? ' She nodded . In the background a tea cup fell to the ground . There were students milling about , sandwiches in hand . ' What does your mother do ? ' ' She's a doctor on ...
... eyes . " They told my mother she couldn't . ' ' Your mother ? ' She nodded . In the background a tea cup fell to the ground . There were students milling about , sandwiches in hand . ' What does your mother do ? ' ' She's a doctor on ...
Page 112
... eyes . She sees one of the soldiers lean over the cauldron . He is stirring the water with a long stick . His face van- ishes in the steam . She turns away into the darkness of the room , rubbing her eyes . Her hands , tired with ...
... eyes . She sees one of the soldiers lean over the cauldron . He is stirring the water with a long stick . His face van- ishes in the steam . She turns away into the darkness of the room , rubbing her eyes . Her hands , tired with ...
Page 117
... eyes and mouth were covered with filthy water . One man , well past middle age , stooped , eyes shut , into the water . The body he touched , the body he lifted out , was that of his own son . At first he did not understand . On wild ...
... eyes and mouth were covered with filthy water . One man , well past middle age , stooped , eyes shut , into the water . The body he touched , the body he lifted out , was that of his own son . At first he did not understand . On wild ...
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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