Volume IV Special Issue VII September 2024

Name of Author : Ashu Ghosh, Nitesh Kumar Baunthiyal

Title of the paper : Language, Identity and Sense of Belonging in Meena Alexanders Illiterate Heart

Abstract: Diaspora poets earned a special place in Indian writing in English for their genuine and boldly conscious voice. Meena Alexander is an Indian-American Diaspora poet, born in Allahabad, raised in Sudan, educated in England and Married to an American, experienced multiple displacements with multiple language exposure, shaping her mind and personality. A voice emerged from this space of consciousness to figure out her identity and sense of belonging it is significant to study the relationship between language, identity and the sense of belonging in Meena Alexanders poetic oeuvre. Through an analysis of her verse, this paper delves into the complexities of identity formation and understanding diaspora voice in a multifaceted world. Her poetry anthology Illiterate Heart 2002 presents fragments of expressions from many languages including French, Hindi, Arabic, Sanskrit, and her mother tongue Malayalam. This paper seeks to understand how words and experiences are mingled so beautifully with diaspora imagery and symbolism and through naming and structuring the complex migrant experience, how an immigrant woman undergoes a journey towards self-discovery and belongingness. The present paper aims to investigate how a diasporic poet uses language as a tool to explore the complex identities and the sense of belonging.

Keywords : Diaspora Poetry, Illiterate Heart, Language, Identity, Belongingness

DOI :

Page Number : 55-58