24th Annual Student Research Conference
Through a Surrealist Lens: Memory and Dreams in The Half-Inch Himalayas by Agha Shahid Ali
Ian J. Cantrell
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
A nonsensical sentence is not meaningless. With surrealist ideals I will explain what lies between two points; dreams and memory, by examining poetic evidence where these perspectives act as devices of conceptualization. These devices allow Ali to convey the unknown, the self-created, and the thoughts of a stranger. Poems of dreams and memory offer the ideal opportunity for a surrealist interpretation as inference and subjectivity become key. Alis poems fulfill the beauty of activated imagination, and to fully realize value, we must respect honest inference. The poems show theyre capable of tapping the unconscious mind, dream imagery showing us the common news headlines, a disremembered friend, brings us into the theatre to catch the end, and you turn to realize that he is removed. Realization, a fickle thing, acts quite like the turns of Alis poems, just as were startlingly helped by the stranger, piercing our silence, hand of silver rupees shining; the unforeseen opportunity.
Keywords: Asian Literature, Indian Poet, Surrealism
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 16-1
Location: VH 1324
Time: 9:30