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E-book
Author Tynan, Maeve

Title Postcolonial odysseys : Derek Walcott's voyages of homecoming / by Maeve Tynan
Published Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars, 2011

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Description 1 online resource (xxv, 187 pages) : color illustrations
Contents Part 1: The craft. The siren song of history ; The mythopoiec craft -- Part 2: The voyage. Postcolonial modernisms ; Encycling reversible worlds -- Part 3: The return. Rites of passage ; Voyages of homecoming -- Conclusion
Summary " ... highlights the importance of the trope of voyaging in Derek Walcott's poetics, primarily as it pertains to the poet's engagement with classical verse. Focusing specifically on the engagement with Homeric myth, and 'The Odyssey' in particular, it articulates the manner in which Walcott's postcolonial reconfigurations of epic verse both highlights the endurance of the classics as well as demonstrating how cultural practices can remake and transform ancient texts. Concomitant with the poet's presentation of self as divided, this study traces opposing forces in operation within this trope: a centrifugal force that corresponds to the outward journey away from his island home in search of greater publishing opportunities and broader readerships, and a centripetal force corresponding to the return journey, or homecoming. The enabling potential of Greek myth is marked by a similar to-ing and fro-ing in Walcott's verse as he repeatedly engages with, and simultaneously disavows, Homeric configurations. Insisting on the reciprocal nature of poetic appropriation, the act of rewriting also signalling new ways of rereading, Walcott's appropriations effectively enter into a critical dialogue with Homeric verse. Further depth to Walcott's rewriting of Homer is provided by an analysis of the mediating influence of Euro-American modernism. Through an examination of the postcolonial aftermath of modernism, it challenges the perceived exclusivity of each, illustrating this premise through case studies of Walcott's relation to both Romare Bearden and James Joyce. This study is therefore interdisciplinary and inter-artistic in nature, transgressing the borderline between poetry and prose, and that of literary and artistic disciplines. Highlighting the permeability of such boundaries, it investigates the journey of Odysseus, as prototypical wanderer, through time and space, from oral to print culture, from word to image"--Publisher's description, p. [4] of cover
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-179) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Walcott, Derek -- Criticism and interpretation
Homer. Odyssey -- Influence
SUBJECT Walcott, Derek fast
Walcott, Derek, 1930- -- analys och tolkning. sao
Odyssey (Homer) fast
Subject Odysseus (Greek mythology) -- Influence
Postcolonialism in literature.
POETRY -- American -- General.
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Postcolonialism in literature
Odysseus (grekisk mytologi)
Postkolonialism i litteraturen.
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2011459033
ISBN 9781443830133
1443830135
1283142775
9781283142779
9786613142771
6613142778