Female Voice In Namibian Poetry: Analysis Of Selected Poems By Christi N. Warner

Abstract

Namibia, a country in the South Western region of the African continent has a complex history of political upheaval, exploitative colonial rule, cultural crisis, and loss of indigenous practices. This country has undergone swift transitions to stabilize a teetering administration. As such, these events greatly impact the life and perspectives of the people. Thereby, the objective of this paper is to understand Namibia’s socio-political context through a critical analysis of Namibian literature. This analysis is based on selected poems by Namibian poet Christi N. Warner from her poetry anthology Ice Cream and Politics. This paper aims to locate the Female Voice and look at the world through the lens of a female centric viewpoint. The ten selected poems are scrutinized based on the frameworks of Gender Theories by Butler and Beauvoir. Images used in the poems as well as their language are thoroughly studied to understand the thematic hints and underlying meaning of the narrative. Racial discourse is also explored in these poems along with various theoretical perspectives regarding visual pleasure and objectification.