“It is my responsibility because I am the mother.” Documentary poetry about refugee resettlement

Abstract This contribution consists of four poems that have been created by cutting out pieces from interview transcripts that I made with some of my adult, female, Congolese interlocutors who since 2021 have been resettled as refugees in Denmark through UNHCR from camps in Rwanda. Inspired by elements from conceptual literature and ethnographic experiments with documentary poetry, I have engaged with the method of postproduction to create the poems. They solely consist of selected passages from transcribed interviews. Thematically, they touch upon life before resettlement and the role of food, the importance of land and gardening, the gradual development of new relations after resettlement, and the condition of being separated from close kin. My ambition with such poetic postproduction is to explore how this method may offer an experience‐near window into central aspects of flight and resettlement as it invites us to dwell on words as they are uttered by interlocutors without subjecting these to theoretical argumentation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Anthropology & Humanism
Published
2026-09-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/anhu.70149
Primary Topic
Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
Type
article
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article

“It is my responsibility because I am the mother.” Documentary poetry about refugee resettlement

Mette Lind Kusk
Anthropology & Humanism
Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
article

“It is my responsibility because I am the mother.” Documentary poetry about refugee resettlement

Mette Lind Kusk
article en

Abstract

Abstract This contribution consists of four poems that have been created by cutting out pieces from interview transcripts that I made with some of my adult, female, Congolese interlocutors who since 2021 have been resettled as refugees in Denmark through UNHCR from camps in Rwanda. Inspired by elements from conceptual literature and ethnographic experiments with documentary poetry, I have engaged with the method of postproduction to create the poems. They solely consist of selected passages from transcribed interviews. Thematically, they touch upon life before resettlement and the role of food, the importance of land and gardening, the gradual development of new relations after resettlement, and the condition of being separated from close kin. My ambition with such poetic postproduction is to explore how this method may offer an experience‐near window into central aspects of flight and resettlement as it invites us to dwell on words as they are uttered by interlocutors without subjecting these to theoretical argumentation.

Anthropology & HumanismVol. 51(2)
Aarhus University (DK)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
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