Abstract
<p>This paper explores Suheir Hammad’s collection of poetry, <em>Born Palestinian, Born Black</em> from the perspective of ecofeminism. The discussion is focused on investigating the representations of Hammad’s double consciousness of Palestinianness and blackness and displaying the dual domination of women and nature embedded in the society of the homeland she left behind. The poems reveal that she depicts the two-ness of her consciousness by highlighting the psycho-social tensions she experiences in the two social contexts- the homeland and the current society of exile. Further, the anthology exhibits the sense of alignment between Palestinianness and blackness in her eyes that is manifested through a form of poetic kinship. They provide an understanding into her varied experience that transcends the limits of cultures and gives birth to a new ecofeminist perspective that promotes diversity. By explicating these crossroads imaged in her poetry, we hope to provide some insights into Hammad’s endeavors that complement those of recent ecofeminists, thereby setting up a common ground for building a symbiotic and ecofeministic society in which there is no male oppression or human exploitation.</p>
Highlights
Ecofeminism, in general, is a widely literary movement that focuses on studying the intersections between feminism and environmentalism
This paper explores Suheir Hammad’s collection of poetry, Born Palestinian, Born Black from the perspective of ecofeminism
Ecofeminist Natures, Noel Sturgeon (1997:23) defines ecofeminism as “a movement that makes connections between environmentalism and feminism, more precisely, it articulates the theory that ideologies that authorize injustice based on gender, race and class are related to the ideologies that sanction the exploitation and degradation of the environment.”
Summary
Ecofeminism, in general, is a widely literary movement that focuses on studying the intersections between feminism and environmentalism. Her double consciousness is marked by the experience and affiliation with the Palestinian culture, America and her identity as a black African American young woman She is a poet, faced the loss of her homeland, and lives in the land of the Statue of Liberty but does not feel that this liberty is accorded to everyone. We have selected some poems which represent the thirty-four poems of the collection and lend themselves well to the current ecofeminist discussion such as “Dedication”, “Taxi”, “Scarlet Rain”, “May I Take Your Order”, “The Necklace”, “Children of Stone”, “ Silence” “Dead Woman” and “Our Mother and Their Lives of Suffer”, and “Broken and Beirut.” These poems three facets of Hammad’s diaporic consciousness: her Palestinian rootedness and perception; her American consciousness of blackness; her pendulumic experience of unhomed from Palestine and being homed in America We have selected some poems which represent the thirty-four poems of the collection and lend themselves well to the current ecofeminist discussion such as “Dedication”, “Taxi”, “Scarlet Rain”, “May I Take Your Order”, “The Necklace”, “Children of Stone”, “ Silence” “Dead Woman” and “Our Mother and Their Lives of Suffer”, and “Broken and Beirut.” These poems three facets of Hammad’s diaporic consciousness: her Palestinian rootedness and perception; her American consciousness of blackness; her pendulumic experience of unhomed from Palestine and being homed in America
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