Uncompleted CV of a Migrant

Publication Instance Details #2891

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	No	Yes	No	No	No

Details

Human Rights Issues	Displacement/Forced Migration Poverty/Deprivation/Lack of Sustenance Racism/anti-Semitism/Sectarianism HR & Colonisation/Colonial Legacies
Irish Context	Minority/refugee rights (Ireland)
Languages	English
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Anthology
Notes	The speaker of the poem describes his life as a journey - similar to a snail's journey through life, but not nearly as straightforward. The poem describes his travels through post-war Germany (in Russian hands) and his fleeing to Ireland, where he got citizenship after 5 years 'of good behaviour'. The poem contains mentions of poverty, starvation, deprviation, cold weather, and fleeing from danger in Germany. While the speaker struggles with filling out forms about his heritage and origin, he describes the complexity of 'nationality' when one doesn't have a fixed home. There is also discussion of the reality of racism and xenophobia in Ireland at the conclusion of the poem. The journey of Saint Brendan is also mentioned in the poem.