A Paean for My Uncle Kit Who Died Before I Was Born

Publication Instance Details #3233

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	Death Penalty/Unlawful Detention/Incarceration Displacement/Forced Migration Health HR & Environment
Irish Context	Economic Inequality (Ireland) Emigration (from Ireland) Housing, health, education (Ireland)
Languages	English
Genre	Long (narrative) Poem
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	The poem was published in Bardwell's collection The Noise of Masonry Settling (Dedalus Press, 2006) and commemorates the death of the poet's uncle Kit in 1920. The speaker addresses themes of emigration for labour to Africa's mines where Kit died, as well as the high death rates of men working there. The lines expose the dehumanizing labour conditions sustaining the diamond industry and the dramatic impact this had upon the health of the migrant and local workers. References to strikes and work injuries unveil a history of exploiting both humans and natural landscape during the early part of the 20th century.