Trauma and Memory in Meena Alexander’s Poems

Abstract

This article examines the themes of trauma, memory, and identity in Meena Alexander's poetry. It focuses on the interplay of exile, migration, and gender. Alexander's work captures the fractured psyche of diasporic women as she reflects on alienation and resilience in the face of patriarchy, displacement, and cultural hybridity. Through the repetition of home, kitchen, sari, and fire images, her poems break open fixed identity notions and confront patriarchal constrictions. Alexander weaves together feminist critique and cultural analysis as she paints vibrant pictures of women in the movement toward sacrifice, rebellion, and self-transformation. The narratives in her poems stress the pluralism of identity based on individual and collective experiences. Using symbolic and metonymic structures, Alexander's poems question the limits of belonging and urge agency amidst chaos. This article positions Alexander's work in transnational feminist discourse by focusing on how she has significantly contributed to redefining cultural and gender identities through lyrical expression.