Meena Alexander in Allahabad
This article is also published by : Musepaper
Meena Alexander, a celebrity poetess and writer, visited Allahabad on 24 March and stayed for about three days. Meena was born in Allahabad on February 17, 1951; therefore, her visit was like home-coming. At present Meena is distinguished professor at Hunter College, New York.
What I liked about Meena is her deep sense of nostalgia. The way this gracious lady showed connection with her home town was remarkable. She recited some of her poems and delivered a lecture, that too mirrored that she, though she lives abroad and has traveled whole Europe and is well adept to various European cultures and languages, is still very much Indian.
I found her sensibility unique in a manner that whatever she said and recited was unlike a celebrity. Her poems accentuated a deep anguish and identity-crisis, which eventually characterizes all expatriate writing. What makes her different from others is her desire to connect to her past. The sense of being one in exile and struggle to forge a sense of identity are prevalent features of her writing. Her autobiography Fault Lines also demonstrates her struggle for identity and self-creation amidst a world that strives for definitions demanded by greater society and cultural identification. Fault Lines reflects both her triumph of will and her talent as a writer.
Moreover, the remarkable facet of her muse is that not only her poems possess such sharp and emotional nuances, but also reflects her naturally gifted ability to give vent to these feelings in a manner which enthralls from a common student to a colossal critic of poetry.
What I liked about Meena is her deep sense of nostalgia. The way this gracious lady showed connection with her home town was remarkable. She recited some of her poems and delivered a lecture, that too mirrored that she, though she lives abroad and has traveled whole Europe and is well adept to various European cultures and languages, is still very much Indian.
I found her sensibility unique in a manner that whatever she said and recited was unlike a celebrity. Her poems accentuated a deep anguish and identity-crisis, which eventually characterizes all expatriate writing. What makes her different from others is her desire to connect to her past. The sense of being one in exile and struggle to forge a sense of identity are prevalent features of her writing. Her autobiography Fault Lines also demonstrates her struggle for identity and self-creation amidst a world that strives for definitions demanded by greater society and cultural identification. Fault Lines reflects both her triumph of will and her talent as a writer.
Moreover, the remarkable facet of her muse is that not only her poems possess such sharp and emotional nuances, but also reflects her naturally gifted ability to give vent to these feelings in a manner which enthralls from a common student to a colossal critic of poetry.
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