The Shock of Arrival: Reflections on Postcolonial Experience

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South End Press, 1996 - History - 223 pages
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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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Contents

OVERTURE
1
House of a Thousand Doors
27
TRANSLATING VIOLENCE
63
Copyright

6 other sections not shown

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The Shock of Arrival: Reflections on Postcolonial Experience
Meena Alexander
Limited preview - 1996

Common terms and phrases

America arrival artist Asian asked becomes bits blood body born called child cloth colonial comes culture dark death desire draw dream earth edge English eyes face father feel female feminine figure fire flesh forced Gandhi garden girl hair hands head heart hold imagination India land language learning light lines living look marked mean memory mind mother mouth move Naidu never painted pass past perhaps piece play poem poetry political present Press published questions river rock sense shock side skin sometimes soul South space speak speech stand started stones stop street struggle tell thing thought tion tongue torn touch trees turned violence voice walking wall window woman women writing young

About the author (1996)

Meena Alexander was born Mary Elizabeth Alexander in Allahabad, India on February 17, 1951. She received a bachelor's degree in English and French at the University of Khartoum in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English at the University of Nottingham in 1973. She taught at the University of Delhi, the University of Hyderabad, Fordham University, the City University of New York Graduate Center, and Hunter College. She wrote numerous volumes of poetry, two novels, and a memoir entitled Fault Lines. Her collections of poetry included Stone Roots, House of a Thousand Doors, Illiterate Heart, Poetics of Dislocation, Birthplace with Buried Stones, and Atmospheric Embroidery. Her novels included Nampally Road and Manhattan Music. She died from endometrial serous cancer on November 21, 2018 at the age of 67.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Shock of Arrival
TitleThe Shock of Arrival: Reflections on Postcolonial Experience
AuthorMeena Alexander
PublisherSouth End Press, 1996
Original fromPennsylvania State University
DigitizedAug 23, 2011
ISBN0896085465, 9780896085466
Length223 pages
Subjects ›  › 

History / United States / General
Social Science / Ethnic Studies / General
Social Science / Women's Studies
  
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