The Poet as Cultural Dentist: Ethnicity in the Poetry of Jackie Kay |
The Poet as Cultural Dentist: Ethnicity in the Poetry of Jackie Kay
Theory and Practice in English Studies 4 (2005)
Proceedings from the Eighth Conference of British, American and Canadian Studies.
Brno: Masarykova Univerzita
pages 63-67
Pavlína Hácová, Philosophical Faculty
Palacky University, Olomouc
The acclaimed British poet Jackie Kay (born 1961) belongs to the colourful mainstream of recent British poetry. The paper aims to survey the ethnic imagery and consciousness Kay explores in her poems, predominantly with the images of dentistry. Special attention will be paid to the images of cultural significance. A few sample poems will be discussed to demostrate the constant search for identity (inclusion vs. exclusion, assimilation vs. marginalization) and cultural heritage.
…Kay keeps clear-cut the distinction between white and black. In the poem “Pride”, the exploration of identity that is based on the imagery of teeth, leads to concern with nationality. Kay is proud of her mixed Scottish and Nigerian background. She links her African descent to her Scottish nationality as she compares Scottish clans to African tribes – both sharing the pride of their respective cultures:
His [the stranger’s] face had a look
I’ve seen on a MacLachlan, a MacDonnell, a MacLeod,
the most startling thing, pride. (Kay 1998: “Pride”, lines 51-53)However, Kay does not see the identity of the characters as either black or white. She has stated in an interview: “I consider myself a Scottish writer, in the sense that I am, and I consider myself a black writer, in the sense that I am, and a woman writer, in the sense that I am” (Severin 2002)…
Read the entire paper here.
Tags: Jackie Kay, Pavlína Hácová