Exploring Spatiality in Selected Poems of Moniza Alvi: A Poetic Cartography of Displacement

This research aims to analyze the dynamics of space in Moniza Alvi’s seven poems from her collection The Country at my Shoulder (1993). It explores how spatial anxiety and dislocated geographical and cultural concerns become prominent in her poems through different spaces. This research mainly highlights the collision of two diverse cultures and value systems in Alvi’s poems to bring forth her transcultural quests, which display the influence of geographical perplexity on postmodern literature. The research employs the theoretical framework of spatiality primarily discussed by Gaston Bachelard, Henri Lefebvre and Benjamin N. Vis. First, architectural spaces, such as rooms and buildings, are discussed in the context of her native culture, as architectural trends of a nation are representative of its culture. Second, social and filial spaces are traced in the form of city space and social ties to unearth their influence on the poet’s existence. Third, diasporic spaces are analyzed through the contrast of oriental and occidental psyches to determine the poet’s vacillation between dual cultures. Fourth, geological and body spaces are interpreted through the metaphor of a displaced geography to highlight the angst of dislocation. These spaces are specifically explored in the light of the philosophies of different critics of space. This exploration shows that Alvi’s poetry proves to be a multi-spatial platform that is reflective of the general restlessness of the 21st century due to postmodern spatial crisis and the dilemma of migration.