Post–exilic an old South African returns to the new South Africa
Loading...
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Western Cape
Abstract
This portfolio of poems, prose poems and short fiction pieces is quasi-autobiographical and tracks the trajectory of my life, from childhood in Cape Town (‘pre-exilic’) to emigration abroad (‘exilic’) and return to Cape Town in late middle age (‘post-exilic’). Themes explored include the deceptive nature of memory and the risk of imbuing a childhood recollected in later life with affective or narrative nostalgia; the psychologically dislocating nature of exile on personal identity and notions of home; and Cape Town as both an imaginary construct and a multi-layered reality: specifically, ‘my’ Cape Town – now as well as half a century ago – and ‘other’ Cape Towns, reflecting a diversity of highly unequal experiences within this city. The dominant mode of expression chosen to explore these largely personal themes is confessional.
Description
Magister Artium - MA
Keywords
Confessional poetry, Exile, Affective nostalgia, Identity, Cape Town, Memory