29th Annual Student Research Conference
The Meaning of Home: A Look at Poetry from Agha Shahid Ali's The Half-Inch Himalayas
Kelsey M. Collings
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
Home for Agha Shahid Ali was split between two places: Kashmir, where he was raised, and the United States, where he lived and taught. Through the poems "Postcard from Kashmir," "Vacating an Apartment," and "Survivor" we get a deep feeling of nostalgia and a sense of what home really is and what it means to be away from home for too long. This essay will explore Ali's poetic thoughts on leaving home, forgetting home, and returning home. Further, I will analyze how his use of form and word choice evokes nostalgia for home in his reader.
Keywords: The Half-Inch Himalayas, "Postcard from Kashmir", home, Agha Shahid Ali, "Survivor", "Vacating an Apartment", nostalgia, loss
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -1
Location: MG 1000
Time: 2:30