From Ireland to the Caribbean: Derek Walcott’s Revivalism in Translation
Résumé
For Derek Walcott, Caribbean history is marked by the experience of erasure and amnesia. Thus, while the idea of revivalism seems impossible, the West Indian artist is free to fashion a utopian, radically new culture. I will question this narrative in the light of Walcott’s references to the Irish Revival. Focussing on Omeros, I will show that translation provides an alternative path to cultural resurrection.