Postcolonial Ekphrasis in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost and Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Desertion

Although intriguing ekphrases – literary descriptions of a visual element – feature in numerous works by postcolonial authors and are sometimes a recurring trademark of their literary production, these rhetorical devices are seldom analysed as a way of accessing new layers of meaning, furthering the understanding of the texts and exploring characters’ opinions and identities. This paper aims to examine two examples of postcolonial ekphrasis in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost and Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Desertion. In Ondaatje’s novel, there are two compelling ekphrases which deconstruct the canonical conception of art and levy criticisms against colonial logic. Further challenging colonial systems, Gurnah’s novel presents an ekphrasis which accurately depicts Füssli’s painting The Nightmare and could broaden the interpretations of European art to convey a message of universality.