The academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets. Meena alexander traces her life from childhood in india through youth and education in africa and england to marriage. Meena alexander 1951 indian poet, novelist, critic, and autobiographer. Born in allahabad, india, and raised in india and sudan. With a calculative view the postcolonial journey of the postcolonial and diasporic writer meena alexander, demands that she is not oblivious of her own rootlessness and dislocation. Brief sections of this essay were presented at the literature of indian diaspora conference, university of west indies, trinidad, march 2000, and the melus europe conference, orleans, france, june 2000. See all 10 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. With a dismal tone she uses figurative language, stream of consciousness, and rhetorical questions to bring the reader face to. Described as undoubtedly one of the finest poets of contemporary times by the statesman india, she was the author of numerous collections of poetry, including atmospheric embroidery 2018, birthplace with buried stones. At five years of age, alexander and her family moved to the sudan, where she attended. Read the passage from the 1845 narrative of the life of frederick douglass, an american slave, noting such elements as syntax, figurative language, and selection of detail. Diasporic experience in the poetry of meena alexander. Essay 3a in meena alexanders autobiography, fault lines, the reader is introduced into the authors tragic state of mind. Although christened mary elizabeth, she has been called meena since birth.
In this tenthanniversary edition of fault lines, this alexander challenges the assumptions of life as a south asian american woman writer in a post911 world. With poetic insight and an honesty that will galvanize readersboth familiar and newalexander reveals her difficult recovery from a longburied childhood trauma that revolutionizes. She was also a visiting fellow or poet in residence at a number of institutions. She was distinguished professor of english at hunter college and at the cuny graduate center in the phd program in english she published two novels, nampally road 1991which was a village voice literary supplement editors choiceand manhattan music 1997, and. Passionate, fierce, and lyrical, fault lines follows one womans evolution as a writer at homeand in exileacross continents and cultures.
In this article i investigate indianamerican author meena alexanders autobiographical memoir, fault lines 2003. Passionate, fierce, and lyrical, meena alexanders memoir traces her evolution as a postcolonial writer from a privileged childhood in india to a turbulent adolescence in the sudan and then to england and new york city. Three specific metaphors that are dealt with throughout this thesis are based on the inanimate objects, door, stone and silk. Styles themes connection piece literary criticism worldview evocative and moving publishers weekly truth vs. Pdf memory and the transformation of identity in meena. Meena alexander was born in allahabad, india, on february 17, 1951. Autobiography fault lines, highlights the issues of marginalized existence, the sense of loss of. Meena alexander essays in an excerpt from her autobiography, fault lines, meena alexander shares with her readers her shaken identity from a first person point of view. Currently she is a renowned professor of english at hunter college and the graduate center of the city university of new york. Meena alexander wrote her memoir fault lines in 1993. Atmospheric embroidery northwestern university press.
Meena alexander, indian poet and teacher whose works reflect her multicultural life in india, sudan, and the united states. Meena alexanders acute poetic sensibility makes this memoir a joy to read. Alexander is distinguished professor of english at the city university of new york and teaches at hunter college and the cuny graduate center. Memory and the transformation of identity in meena alexanders fault lines. The personal narrative derives its power and charm from the heightened awareness of the interaction between the self and the world. She was distinguished professor of english at hunter college and at the cuny graduate center in the phd program in english. It is distinguished by a peculiar mode of experiencing and recording reality. Faultlines a journey through meena alexanders life, conflicts and adjustments with the host society as a result of multiple dislocations conference paper pdf available april 2014 with. Postcolonial diasporics writing in search of a homeland. Language of dislocation and fragmentation in meena. Passionate, fierce, and lyrical, meena alexanders memoir traces her evo. As a product of mixed culture, alexanderfinds it difficult to identify with a distinct culture and define who she truly is. The excerpt focuses on the authors lack of identity as she struggles to identify an image to which she belongs. Through the usage of dubious tone, descriptive smile, and selfquestioning syntax, alexander conveys the pain and difficulty in finding her fractured.
The following entry presents criticism of alexanders career through 1998. Meena alexander was born in allahabad, india, in 1951. In fault lines, she tells of her attempts to navigate the class system in india and abroad, as well as the conflict between her personal ambition and the expectations placed on her by indian tradition. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. She is also the author of an acclaimed autobiography, fault lines, as well as two novels. Home archives reading room search editorial info books subscribe west links winter 1998, volume 15. Meena alexander simple english wikipedia, the free. Alexander is also a famous memoirist, fiction writer and academic. The acclaimed indian poet reflects on her place in the post 911 world in this evocative and moving memoir spanning continents and cultures publishers. The author makes a reference to the origin of in her nampally road autobiography fault lines. Her poetry collections include atmospheric embroidery triquarterly books, 2018. The storm, a poem in five parts l989 and nightscene, the garden l992. Meena alexander 17 february 1951 21 november 2018 was an indian poet, scholar, and writer. Critical essays on meena alexander fault lines fault lines, lopamudra basu and cynthia leenerts.
With a literary career spanning three decades, alexanders writ ing has generated sufficient scholarly interest. Introduction author information soaps analysis soaps cont. With never ending uncertainties, meena alexander will perpetually live a life without knowing the true meena alexander. Described as undoubtedly one of the finest poets of contemporary times by the statesman india, she was the author of numerous collections of poetry, including atmospheric embroidery 2018, birthplace with buried stones 20, and. The fault lines of empire is a fascinating comparative study of two communities in the early modern british empireone in massachusetts, the other in nova scotia. In this examination of what it means to identify with a particular people, alexander uncovers a childhood trauma that she had nearly forgotten.
Contemporary women writers of the indian and afroitalian diaspora. I picked up fault lines shortly after that, and was surprised that i hadnt heard of it before. Like many poets, meena alexander writes excellent prose, crafting each sentence with care and taking chances with language that not many prose writers would risk. Her poetry publications include stone roots l980, house of a thousand doors l988 and two long poems. Meena alexanders illiterate heart and quickly changing. The feminist press at the city university of new york, 1993. Meena alexander presents her broken identity through her complicated search to restore her shattered self. Meena taught me to fish in waters of many languages and that the most significant catch of all that.
Pdf faultlines a journey through meena alexanders life. At the age of fifteen, she officially changed her name to meena. She does search for her identity and tries to find her place in a world attempts to define, identify and label people. In this paper, how meena alexander achieves her aim will be explored. At the same time, the writing is grounded enough to evoke the earthier loam of. Fault lines available for download and read online in other formats. All she sees in herself is a mass of faults, a fault mass. Pdf this study examines the conflicts and adjustments that the indo american poetwriter meena alexander had to go through due to multiple. Here alexanders lines marked by diasporic sensibility and diasporic experience which finds highly emotion, large expression in sensual, lyrical and metaphoric language.
Here alexander s lines marked by diasporic sensibility and diasporic experience which finds highly emotion, large expression in sensual, lyrical and metaphoric language. She had grown up in sudan, and described the experience in a book called fault lines. Pdf time lines and fault lines an autobiography download. Fault lines meena alexader meena alexander uses language to express the fractured and disjointed view of herself. Multiply fragmented by relocations and remembrances, flights and motions, alexander. As she repeatedly emphasises her irresistible impulse to write since her childhood and.
Meena alexanders illiterate heart and quickly changing river. Born in allahabad, india, poet meena alexander was raised in kerala and sudan. Search for identity in meena alexanders fault lines international. Click download or read online button to get fault lines book now. Born in allahabad, india, and raised in india and sudan, alexander lived and worked in new york city, where she was distinguished professor of english at hunter college and at the cuny graduate center in the phd program in english. She has undergone multiple identities in multiple places.
Question 2 excerpt from fault lines by meena alexander. Meena alexander indian poet and teacher britannica. Faultlines a journey through meena alexanders life, conflicts and adjustments with the host society as a result of multiple dislocations. Writing across various literary genres, alexander has. She earned a ba at khartoum university and a phd at nottingham university. Meena turned to poetry at the age of eleven or twelve for her. In calling herself a mass of faults, a fault mass she is nothing more than a boken and fragmented person, with no certain identity. Fault lines by meena alexander by geoff wisner i covered a few events at this years pen world voices festival, and when i arrived at a storytelling event sponsored by the moth i was lucky enough to be seated next to the poet and author meena alexander. A memoir by alexander nampally road, 1990, tracing her life from childhood in india through youth and education in africa and england to marriage and motherhood in manhattan. Meena alexander and the postcolonial memoir baltic worlds. With a dismal tone she uses figurative language, stream of consciousness, and rhetorical questions to. Meena alexander, a homebound pilgrim always finds peace, bless and happiness in going down the memory lane of her early days.
With poetic insight and an honesty that will galvanize readersboth familiar and new alexander reveals her difficult recovery from a longburied childhood trauma that revolutionizes. Meena alexander india in the 1returned to970s to teach at the university in hyderabad. As the title of the memoir indicates, her sense of displacement or dislocation is such a strong sentiment, owing perhaps to the physical. Deception what the actual truth is and the lies we tell ourselves to protect us fault lines is an. Postcolonial diasporics writing in search of a homeland meena alexanders manhattan music, fault lines, and the shock of arrival 1. Meena alexander, a south asian immigrant writer through her. Meena alexander simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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