Countering Imperialist Stereotypes: The Poetry Of Nadia Anjum

Abstract

This paper attempts to discuss Nadia Anjum’s work as an authentic reflection of the reality as it is lived in Pakistan. Anjum was born in Pakistan; she has lived and worked here all her life and thus has personally experienced the life we all Pakistanis live. In the wake of this new lethal wave of terrorism in post 9/11 world, Pakistanis have been globally and reductively labeled as extremists, fundamentalists and terrorists. This paper will argue, via an analysis of Anjum’s poems through Edward Said’s Orientalism, that there is more to Pakistan than what is projected through global media. [1]Anjum’s work brings out the beauty of Pakistani landscape; it reflects realistically and emotively the various facets of Pakistani life as lived in different regions of this country. On the pages of her poetry books, we witness a historically, politically-informed consciousness thoroughly soaked in the rich cultural heritage the land and its people have inherited from their ancestors. Unlike the many Pakistani writers who have chosen to live in exile and written Pakistan’s story with an exilic, distanced perspective, Anjum’s poetry authentically reflects the life lived in this country.