A Far Cry from Africa

"Love after Love" by Derek Walcott (1971)

Tackling a totally different aspect of conflicted identity, Walcott’s “Love after Love” addresses a kind of self-worth that can only be attained by quiet reflection and a full belly. One of Walcott’s most uplifting and endearing poems, “Love after Love” is a stark contrast to the unanswerable questions pertaining to identity that can be found in “A Far Cry from Africa.” The poem addresses learning to love oneself after the ending of a relationship and finding the kind of self-confidence that can only come from within.

"Bread" by Kamau Brathwaite (2005)

Kamau Brathwaite, a contemporary Caribbean author from Barbados, tackles the subject of the slow breakdown of the dreams and aspirations of Black people in his poem “Bread.” The subject of the gathering of ingredients for the baking and producing of bread works as an extended metaphor to better understand the way Black people have been routinely denied agency in their own lives. As the poem progresses, it slowly breaks down in form with increasing enjambment and chaotic punctuation. This breakdown of form is making a statement about the struggle to find identity as a Black person after colonization.