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LITR 5831 Multicultural Literature
Poetry Reading
“A
Far Cry from Africa”
Lisa Hacker-Poetry Presentation
Written as a response to the Mau Mau Uprising and Kenya’s
fight to get out from under the Colonial rule of Britain. Poem was published in
1962, one year before Kenya achieved its independence.
Obj. 2b: To extend genre studies to
poetry and film {esp. Derek Walcott of St. Lucia, West Indies…}
·
Kikuyu-natives
of Kenya
·
Country
divided as if by Civil War when guerilla warfare erupted from within against the
British. Kenyans fought each other according to divided loyalties
·
Unrest began
after WWII, with intensified fighting from 1952-1958
·
11,000 killed
by British and now considered heroes
·
70,000
tortured and/or maimed
·
Approximately
2,000 British and Kikuyu killed by Mau Mau guerillas
Lines 2-3
“Kikuyu, quick as flies,
batten upon the bloodstreams of the
veldt.”
·
Batten-to feed
gluttonously, grow prosperous at the expense of others
·
Veldt-Afrikaans word for ‘field’ and reference to the open, rural space of
Africa
Lines 5-6
“Only the worm,
colonel of carrion, cries: ‘Waste no compassion on these separate dead!’”
·
Colonel of
carrion…reference to authority of Britain…Can make an interesting analogy when
considering worms living off the soil, constantly tilling and uprooting, eating
decomposed material. Britain is the imperialistic worm living off the soil of
Africa and its spoils.
·
Reference to
“separate dead”…any thoughts? I’m a
bit stumped.
Lines 7-8
“Statistics justify and scholars seize the
salients of colonial policy”
·
Salients-projection of the forward line into enemy territory
·
Scholars
seizing/embracing justification?
Lines
9-10
“What is that to the white child hacked in bed? To savages,
expendable as Jews?”
·
Walcott
reminding reader of atrocities on both sides. The image of a white child dying
at the hands of brutality is strong and incites indignation, but it’s
interesting how it is immediately partnered with the
analogy of the Mau Mau “savages” in comparison to the “expendable Jews”.
The word savages dehumanizes the Mau Mau, but the comparison to the genocide of
the Jews also shows the inhumanity of the British.
Lines 11-14
·
The imagery of
the ibises rising out of the rushes: What do you think?
·
Note on the
ibis: There are many different types and colors of ibis in Africa, including
solid white, bright pink, and even one that is black and neon blue. Walcott does
not seem to specify which ibis in this passage, but it is worth noting that the
African Sacred ibis is a combination of white and black in stark contrast.
Lines 15-17
·
“The violence
of beast on beast is read as natural law, but upright man seeks his divinity by
inflicting pain…” The unnaturalness
of colonialism:
o
Natural law =
circle of life/survival of fittest/prey and predator?
o
Motivation
other than survival?
o
How does this
process reflect the seeking of divinity?
o
Thoughts on
“upright man”: Might be a bit of a stretch, but could Walcott be making an
allusion to the difference between ‘savages’ and whites? Could he be drawing to
mind the image of men and apes/evolution/ancestry of African Americans? Or is it
more literal, as in righteousness?
Lines 18-21
·
“…his wars
dance to the tightened carcass of a drum, while he calls courage still that
native dread of the white peace contracted by the dead”
o
Imagery of
carcass/drum…death of animal to create
o
White peace
contracted by the dead: Death achieves peace?
Lines 22-25
·
“Again
brutish necessity wipes its hands upon the napkin of a dirty cause, again a
waste of our compassion, as with Spain, the
gorilla wrestles with the
superman”
o
Gorilla=guerrilla, or “a member of an irregular military force operating in
small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy”
o
Superman=Britain
o
Help me out
here…what is the reference to Spain? Spain as a another example of colonizing
country, or is this a specific reference to another act of war or historical
event?
Okay, now this
is where it really gets good…
Lines
26-33 (obj. 1b To extend the
colonial-postcolonial transition to a contemporary third wave of transnational
migration)
·
“I who am
poisoned with the blood of both, where shall I turn, divided to the vein?”
o
Reference to
Walcott’s mixed heritage, which includes both grandmothers being black and both
grandfathers being white
·
“…how choose
between this Africa and the English tongue I love? Betray them both, or give
back what they give?”
o
Reference,
also, to cultural division. Raised in St. Lucia under British control…loves
colonized home but also embraces ways of the colonizer, including a love of the
language it has gifted him with:
o
“To accept an
‘English’ poetic inheritance while sympathizing with Kikuyu is to ‘betray them
both’, whereas to ‘give back’ both the English and African parts of his identity
would be to cancel his (Walcott) own existence…(Walcott: “The language I used
did not bother me. It was irrevocably given. I could no more give it back than
they could claim it.”) "Nobody's Nation" by Paul
Breslin
·
“How can I
face such slaughter and be cool? How can I turn from Africa and live?”
o
Where does
that leave Walcott, torn between both love and disdain with both sides of his
heritage?
§
“The dilemma
can only be endured, not resolved.” "Nobody's Nation"
by Paul Breslin
§
“Walcott’s art
arises from this schizophrenic situation, from a struggle between two cultural
heritages, which he has harnessed to create a unique ‘creolized’ style…Walcott
has drawn criticism from Caribbean commentators, who accuse him of neglecting
native forms in favor of techniques derived from his colonial oppressors.”
www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Walcott.html
§
Walcott’s
words: “I am, primarily, a Caribbean writer. The English language is nobody’s
special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property to
the language itself. I have never felt inhibited in trying to write as well as
the greatest English poets. Now that has led to a lot of provincial criticism:
the Caribbean critic may say, ‘You’re trying to be English,’ and the English
critic may say, ‘Welcome to the club.’ These are two provincial statements at
either end of the spectrum…”
www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Walcott.html
Obj. 3c
How may colonial-postcolonial discourse fit into
American nationalist and multicultural curricula? If this is your only
colonial-postcolonial course, how may it serve your scholarly or teaching
interests?
As a teacher, I want to expose my students to as
much ‘truth’ as I can, particularly in subjects like history where different
versions or portions of truth are presented in curriculum, media, and class
lecture. A lesson on colonialism can be greatly enhanced by including the
presentation and discussion of colonial and postcolonial literature. By tying in
this poem, for example, students can see the far-reaching issues that affect the
colonized on a personal level, and not just focus on historical facts, dates,
and political figures.
Students could see the personal turmoil that the
writer continues to experience and put that into dialogue with the historical
information. By seeing the personal, students understand history at a different
level.
They could go deeper into the history by examining the effects
of the Mau Mau uprising today. For example, on YouTube there is a video titled
“Scars of Lari” that has interviews with Kenyans who survived the British
atrocities during this time period. Every opportunity to present history in a
more personal way increases the chances of a student processing and
understanding it.
21 July 2011
Last updated at
11:34 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14232049
Mau Mau Kenyans allowed
to sue UK government
By Dominic Casciani
L-R: Ndiku Mutua, Jane Muthoni Mara and Wambugu Wa Nyingi
claimed they were tortured
Four elderly Kenyans have been told they can sue the Foreign
Office for their alleged torture by British colonial authorities 50 years ago.
The High Court said the group could seek damages over their
treatment during the 1950s and 60s.
Mr Justice McCombe said the claimants had an "arguable case"
and it would be "dishonourable" to block the action.
Ministers say the UK government is not responsible for the
actions of the colonial administration.
The decision means that the government will have to defend
accusations of torture, murder, sexual assault and other alleged abuses at a
full damages trial in 2012.
The four Kenyans, Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, Paulo Muoka Nzili,
Wambugu Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara, all in their 70s and 80s, say ministers
in London approved systematic abuse in special camps. A fifth claimant has died
since the action began.
The High Court heard that Mr Mutua and Mr Nzili had been
castrated, Mr Nyingi was beaten unconscious in an incident in which 11 men were
clubbed to death, and Mrs Mara had been subjected to appalling sexual abuse.
Mr Justice McCombe said in his judgement
there was "ample evidence" to show there may have been "systematic torture of
detainees during the Emergency".
"I emphasise that I have not found that there was systematic
torture in the Kenyan camps nor that, if there was, the UK government is liable
to detainees, such as the claimants, for what happened.
"I have simply decided that these five claimants have
arguable cases in law and on the facts as presently known."
Lost documents
The trial is
expected to include critical material from some 17,000 previously lost documents
which were discovered earlier this year in the Foreign Office's archives.The
papers
include detailed reports of atrocities
which were sent to ministers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Professor David
Anderson
"This really is a landmark case. Firstly, for the Kenyans
themselves, it is seen as a major statement of principle.
"For many years in Kenya there has been a great resentment
about Britain's failure to acknowledge what happened. Many in Kenya will be very
relieved to have had this judgement.
"It also has implications for Britain's imperial past. As a
nation, we have been not very good at facing up to that history and I think this
will help us do that and repair our reputation with our former colonies.
"As well as the claimants named in this case, there are
others in Kenya who suffered a similar fate. My best guess is that there may be
as many as 1,400."
Some of the documents implicate British colonial officials in
abuse at detention camps which were set up to smash the pre-independence
uprising.
Professor David Anderson of Oxford University, who unearthed
the documents, is working with other experts to log the potential evidence.
So far, the names of a further 600 apparent victims have been
found in the papers, all of whom could theoretically sue if they are alive.
Martyn Day, solicitor for the Kenyans, said the ruling was a
historic judgement.
"Over 50 years ago our clients suffered the most terrible
torture at the hands of the British Colonial regime," he said.
"Our clients have been battling for years to obtain justice
for what they endured. Our government has seemed hell-bent on preventing that
happening.
"They want some sort of justice, an apology, some sort of
money that would give them peace in their final years."
Government fights
on
Foreign Office minister Henry Bellingham said: "It is right
that those who feel they have a case are free to take it to the courts. We
understand the pain and grievance felt by those, on all sides, who were involved
in the divisive and bloody events of the emergency period in Kenya.
"Despite today's judgment, the government will continue to
defend fully these proceedings, given the length of time elapsed and the complex
legal and constitutional questions the case raises."
But Gitu Wa Kahengeri of the Mau Mau War Veterans'
Association told the BBC's Focus on Africa that he welcomed the ruling.
The British were becoming "just people" and the
veterans expected "reasonable compensation", he said.
"They tortured our people, raped our people, castrated our
people," he said. "There is no evil they did not do. These atrocities are the
cause of the case. We want them to pay for that," Mr Wa Kahengeri said.
Mr Justice McCombe has given the government until the autumn
to prepare a defence and additional arguments that the case is too old to be
heard.
