The Making of DisPlace: Unpacking the Title, Themes, and Influences
What does “displace” mean to you? For Nduka Otiono, author of DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono, the English meaning of the word elicits feelings of in-betweenness, migration, and a complex relationship with home. The pidgin words “dis” and “place” connect to Nduka’s Nigerian homeland and broader pan-African themes. When spliced, “dis-place” plays with the tension between languages, a concept wrestled with throughout the volume. In short, DisPlace means quite a lot.
In this third episode, Nduka and Peter Midgley, editor of DisPlace, discuss the inspiration and meaning behind the collection’s title. Peter comments on its conversational tone, and explains how it foreshadows the philosophical, metaphysical, and political questions in the text. Nduka also examines how the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced his writing; faced with death and stasis allowed for greater introspection, and eventually, catharsis.
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