Volume IV Special Issue VII September 2024

Name of Author : Evangelin Saral N, Dr. S. Sakthivel

Title of the paper : Analysing the Poem Atlas by Terisa Sigatonu in the Light of Diasporic and Blue Humanistic Impressions

Abstract: The contemporary poem Atlas by Terisa Sigatonu, published in 2018, predominantly exemplifies the concept of diaspora and blue humanities. Terisa Sigatonu was born and grew up in the Bay Area of San Francisco. However, her ethnic roots belong to the island country of Samoa. Though she doesnt grow up in Samoa, she is an ardent devotee of her Pacific island, and that is manifested in her poem Atlas. The narrator of the poem has a tenacious connection with the island country, Samoa but resides in California, a coastal state of the US. Due to climate change, Samoa Island experiences the rise of sea level, and California suffers from drought. The narrator discerns that the effects of climate change in these places establish migration. So, she yearns for a permanent home. The speaker possesses two identities Samoan- Californian, if relocation due to climate change takes place, it results in complex identities. Since the impacts of climate change affect water bodies and waterborne areas, the speaker associates her nativity with water. In addition, the poem states that the perceptions created by man-made maps and the lack of knowledge about the waterborne places like islands create misconceptions, arrogance, and ignorance among people. The speaker of the poem evinces different aspects such as perceptions, the waterborne identity of diasporic community, and effects of climate change that spins around her native land and the place she lives. This paper is an attempt to explore the poem Atlas under the scope of diaspora, blue humanities, perceptions on waterborne areas, oceanic identity, and climatic anxiety.

Keywords : Diaspora, Identity, Blue Humanities, Climate Change, Perceptions

DOI :

Page Number : 80-83