Across Nations and Rivers: Metaphors of Multi-Culturalism in Jeet Thayil’s Poetry

Abstract

Jeet Thayil allocates attention in revealing his cultural ties with America and India through metaphors pertaining to iconic geographical places in his poetry. He communicates his multi-cultural identity symbolically through metaphors of rivers which are analogous to flexible identities in today’s cosmopolitan society. In his poetry, transnational places and the weather of such places seem to structure his memories and thereby create a template for his multi-cultural identity. This paper interprets the metaphors related to rivers symbolizing a fluid multi-cultural identity of the poet through a study of his selected poems. It also configures the ecological and cultural factors for such metaphorical representations by the poet.