الفهرس 
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Abstract
This study sheds light on selected poetry by four Egyptian-American
poets, Maged Zaher, Pauline Kaldas, Matthew Shenoda, and Suzy Kassem.
These four poets share many thematic and aesthetic features in spite of the
differences in their personal and professional background. They belong to
different generations of immigrants: Zaher and Kaldas were born and lived for
a period of time in Egypt, while Shenoda and Kassem were born and raised up
in the United States. They belong to opposite genders: two males and two
females. They believe in different religions: Kassem is a Muslim, while the
other three are Copts. The poetry analysis throughout the dissertation
questions the effect of such differences on their representations of Egypt.
Chapter one “Nation, Nationalism, and Transnationalism: Theories
and Perspectives” opens with introducing the terms “nation” and
“nationalism.” The study provides various definitions and interpretations for
both terms as explored by significant critics and intellectuals. Throughout such
definitions and interpretations, common key-concepts are highlighted:
territory, history, culture, heritage, origins, authenticity, memories,
sentiments, economy, unity, and political destiny.
Two contradictory sides of nationalism have been investigated. The
bright side emerges when feelings of dignity thrust citizens to seek national
independence. Therefore, they resist colonialism or protest against dictatorial
regimes. The gloomy side of nationalism has also been inspected; nationalism
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is dangerous in some cases. Sometimes, it leads to the exclusion of the other,
discrimination, and antagonism that sometimes develop into violent attacks.
Nationalism, therefore, proves to be idealistic in concept and a failure in
practice, on several occasions.
The chapter examines four nationalism-related theories, namely:
primordialism, modern nationalism, ethno-symbolism, and transnationalism.
The name of each theory indicates its primarily features. Primordialists are
emotional nationalists who are concerned with history, kinship ties, and
culture. The theory has been criticized for its connection to the past and for
being unapplicable to nations where shared history among citizens is not an
available option. Modern nationalists, on the other hand, are unemotional; they
read nationalism in relation to politics, industrialization, education, and call
for homogeneity, or what is known as the high culture. They have been
criticized for ignoring sentiments, identity, and territory.
Ethno-symbolists are emotional nationalists who relate nationalism to
ethnic and cultural ties. They assert the significance of symbols, myths,
memories, figures of heroes, and territory for nations. Their excessive
nostalgia to the past has been criticized. As for transnationalism, it studies the
case of migrants. Transnationalists are connected to both lands: homeland and
the host land. Transnationalism has also been criticized as it might create
displacement sentiments.
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Chapter two is entitled “Celebrating Egypt(s): Multiple
Representations.” As clear from the title, it examines poetry that represents
the positive sides of Egypt and celebrates its unique history and diverse
cultures. The poets’ transnational engagements to homeland are reflected
within the different nationalism theories through tackling various topics. The
poets celebrate ancient Egyptian civilization, assert ties to the symbols of
nations, such as the land, the Nile, and the grandmothers, and reveal
connections to the Egyptian food and Egyptian eating practices.
In their poetry, Kassem and Shenoda, who were born and raised up in
the United States, emphasize their ethnic and historical ties to Egypt. Whereas
Kassem’s tone is hyperbolic, or rather chauvinistic, Shenoda’s representation
is realistic and could be regarded as a pure manifestation of nationalism. Their
lens could be contrasted to that of Zaher and Kaldas who are more engaged in
representing contemporary Egypt due to living in it for several years. One
example could be detected in Kaldas’s depiction of everyday scenes within
various Egyptian places; this asserts her territorial ties. Territorial ties are also
mirrored by Zaher; he does not portray as many places as Kaldas, yet he
produces various images from the same region, down-town Cairo.
Surprisingly, Shenoda realistically portrays various Egyptian neighborhoods.
The absence of territorial representations in Kassem’s poetry while drawing
ancient Egypt, except for “Thebes,” is justified. Kassem’s vision is also
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limited in her portrayal of the Nile; she romantically reflects its beauty and
purity. This could be contrasted to Shenoda’s portrayal of the Nile as the
source of fertility and nourishment, as well as to Kaldas’s portrayal of its
healing effect. Zaher’s representation of the Nile is observed in his poetic
illustration which points to its geographical significance.
Kaldas and Shenoda draw their grandmothers as symbols of roots.
Both poets perceive them as connectors to their nation of origin and both
depict their physical effort. Yet, Kaldas’s images are more intimate due to her
experience as a child with her grandmother in Egypt. The chapter ends with
offering representations of culinary images. Details of the Egyptian cuisine,
as well as cooking and eating practices, are drawn by Kaldas. Her depictions
are inspired by her domestic time in Egypt with her female relatives in the
kitchen, as well as by her keenness on cooking traditional Egyptian food to
her family members in the States. Images related to Egyptian food also show
in Shenoda’s poetry, yet within very limited scenes.
Chapter three is entitled “Critical Representations of Egypt.” Within
the nationalism theories, this chapter analyzes poetry which exhibits some
complications in Egypt, from the poets’ point of view. The poets’ transnational
ties to their native land thrust them to display the obstacles that might hinder
them or some Egyptians from building national bonds with Egypt. The poets
view contemporary Egypt in a critical lens and criticize the negative impacts
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of the western hegemony on Egypt. They denounce discrimination in Egypt,
whether based on religious or gender basis. Moreover, they condemn the
dilemma of pollution.
In contradiction with their poetry which glorifies ancient Egypt, the
third chapter reveals that Kassem and Shenoda’s poetry views contemporary
Egypt with a critical eye. Again, Kassem’s lens exaggerates in her portrayal
of Egypt and its people today. She represents contemporary Egypt as inferior
to ancient Egypt and contemporary Egyptians as much worse than their
ancestors. Kassem also denounces western cultural hegemony over Egypt; she
detests the fact that authentic figures are replaced by western ones. Shenoda,
on the other hand, perceives the modes of modernity as responsible for
distorting the past. He sets example with the construction of the high dam
which drowned the legacy and displaced several Nubians. Zaher, however,
criticizes western economic hegemony on Egypt. He, as well as Kassem,
denounces the technological gap between Egypt and the West.
The chapter exhibits the dilemma of religious tension in Egypt as
manifested in the poetry of Kaldas and Shenoda. Both poets portray realistic
scenes in Egypt that highlight discrimination against Copts; yet Kaldas
provides more details through a personal story. Kassem’s poetry, on the other
hand, tries to reconcile this tension. Surprisingly, Kaldas is the only of the four
poets who gives voice to gender discrimination in Egypt. Most probably due
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to being the only female in this study who spent several years in Egypt where
she has witnessed female oppression within the domestic sphere and, most
probably, the public sphere. The chapter ends with spotting light on the crisis
of pollution in Egypt. Kaldas and Shenoda, who have revealed territorial ties
through depicting different Egyptian places, have also criticized the spread of
pollution through drawing realistic scenes that are rich in detailed descriptions
of different types of pollution.
Chapter four is entitled “Ambivalent Representations of Egypt.” It
opens with interpreting the notion of “ambivalence,” being a clear
phenomenon in the analyzed poetry. The chapter is divided into two major
parts: the first part focuses on the poets’ ambivalence between homeland and
the host hand, while the second part highlights ambivalence in their relation to
Egypt. As for the poets’ ambivalence between two homes, it is investigated
through shedding light on their linguistic ambivalence between the Arabic and
the English languages. On the other hand, their ambivalence in relation to the
place shows in their ambivalent perspectives of Egypt and in their religious
ambivalence.
Due to being involved in a hybrid transnational space, the four poets
suffer linguistic ambivalence. The Arabic language appears in the poetry of
Zaher and Kaldas; by Zaher in the classical form, and by Kaldas in the
vernacular Egyptian. Both poets reveal ambivalence through mixing Arabic
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with English. Shenoda and Kassem, on the other hand, cannot write in Arabic
letters, but they reveal connection to their mother-tongue through
transliterated words. However, Kassem’s transliteration is full of mistakes; so,
the poem is very ambiguous.
The poets’ perceptions of Egypt appear contradictory and ambivalent
in some of their representations. Kaldas’s poetic celebration of Egypt is
interrupted by pollution; Zaher’s by violence, and Shenoda’s by poverty.
Kassem, on the other hand, claims that the identity of contemporary Egyptians
is ambivalent. Finally, Kassem and Zaher’s relations to their religion, Islam
and Copticism respectively, seem ambivalent, as revealed in their poetry.
Finally, the conclusion sums up the major findings of the study. It
asserts the multiple lenses of the poets’ representations of Egypt and
emphasizes their national and transnational tendencies. In addition, it exhibits
the influence of the personal experiences of the poets on their poetic
production and compares the four poets showing the similarities and
differences