“Ambiguous State of Being”: identity construction in contemporary Arab-American (post-9/11) poetry

This study examines poetry written by Americans of Arab descent and the manifold ways in which ―national identity construction and belonging in terms of Race, Cultural Politics, and Feminism are portrayed in the discourse of various prominent, contemporary Arab-American poets. Using literary imagology as a methodological tool, the study investigates the various representations of identity/alterity expressed in these works. As such, the primary focus of the study is on the image of the Arab community in post-9/11 America, and the various cultural concerns of the spected community as portrayed in the literature (i.e. from an aesthetic, subjective perspective). Moreover, this study addresses the subsequent tensions and exilic notions encountered in contemporary Arab-American poetic discourse in its attempt to redefine and invalidate the image of being Arab, and by extrapolation, Muslim, in America after the incidents of the 9/11 attacks. This research focuses on sociopolitical readings of Anglophone Arab poetry in America in light of pertinent concerns of cultural and national identification patterns which, as this research attempts to show, form the essence of these works. The study addresses textual representations of identity and ―Self-image as well as alterity and ―Difference expressed in the poetic discourse in relation to cultural and ethnic stereotypes evident in post-9/11 American portrayal of Arab identity. Arab-American poetry in general alludes to the ethnic profiling of Arabs exploring various facets of the Arab-American experience, including displacement, adaptation, ethnic profiling, and stereotyping. The discourse on Arab-American marginalization and stigmatization in a post-9/11, American context is avid in scholarly/theoretical output on pan-ethnic Arab-American identity. Post-9/11 Arab-American poetic discourse (the spectant) attempts to confirm American national belonging, loyalty and affinity to both an Arab descent and American heritage. This study provides a thorough analysis of the images and attitudes of ethnic and cultural affinities presented in a representative sample of contemporary Arab-American poetry. The main aim is to inquire about the relevance of identity construction and its negotiation through literature in light of America‘s ―War on Terror and inclusion/exclusion of American citizens of Arab descent

Contributor Biographies

Biographies from each of the contributors from this issue of Jostes Journa