ANGST OF
ALIENATION IN STEPHEN GILL’S POETRY
Shweta Saxena
Stephen Gill’s
poetry is conspicuous for its message of peace and harmony in the society.
Through his poems, Gill affirms his belief that “the malady of religious and
racial fanaticism and violence lies in the non-acceptance of the values of
tolerance, understanding, and co-existence”1 Besides this, Gill’s poetry contains
abiding echoes of an alienated artistic soul. The present paper tries to
foreground flashes of existential angst
that lie dormant in the poetry of Gill. The angst
of alienation, which is felt very often by an artistic soul, can influence
a person in two ways—in a negative way it can make him a pessimist and
escapist, while acting positively, it can motivate a person to work more
vigorously towards making this world a better place. Accordingly, the present
paper endeavours to reveal that in Stephen Gill’s
poetry the angst of alienation was
experienced as a positive force that impelled him to become a committed artist,
striving for the cause of betterment of humanity.
Sifting through the
pages of Gill’s poetry collections, it is not difficult to find the agony of an
isolated soul. This alienation and isolation might have sprung from the fact
that Gill witnessed from close quarters the fury of religious fanaticism and
the agony of displacement, both physical and mental. C. L. Khatri
recommends that
his poetry should be read and evaluated in the light of
his past nightmarish experiences in
His poetry collection Shrine abounds with the images of a
lonely and desolated soul that passionately aspires to break the obdurate mould
of racial and communal orthodoxy and liberate humanity from its hold. In the poem titled “Self,” Gill acknowledges
himself as “A homeless beggar” who wanders “to catch a glimpse of reality/from
different angles/on the pieces of glass”3 Again in the poem “An Immigrant Complains,” Gill voices out the despair of a lonely
soul:
His feathers
flutter
wounded by sickles of bigotry
in an estranged world
around the isle of loneliness.4
Here Gill sounds very much like the
existentialist philosopher Kierkegaard, who stands “like a lonely fir tree,
egotistically isolated, looking toward something higher, . . throwing no shadow, only the wood
dove building its nest in [his] branches”5 Further in the poem “Legacy,” Gill says that
he has planted in his yard “the trees/which give the fruits of pain/fear,
loneliness/and self-destruction.”6
But the poet does not
want his progeny to bear this pain. Hence he wishes to leave “abundant pills”
of peace and harmony to relieve his children from the “headache” of animosity.
These pills are nothing but his poems that are filled with the profoundest
emotion of amity. In order to soothe his disturbed psyche, Gill moves from
place to place, but his terrible thoughts refuse to leave his company. In the
poem “Tenants in Me,” Gill admits that even after immigrating to a peaceful
land, he is unable to forget the horror of inhuman violence in the name of
religion that inflicted the place of his birth:
The immigrant in me
talks of the days
when religiosity killed innocents
of different creeds.
Those painful shrieks
hidden in his blood
stagger at night.7
Gill professes in the poem “A New Canadian
in Toronto” that even in the city of Toronto he does not find peace, since “the
lips of this city/smell like the plastic flowers/and its eyes display/the
festivals of the orphans.”8 He feels isolated in the city of
immigrant
who has lived through and survived against the hostility generated mainly out
of the uncosmopolitan profile of his so-called
cosmopolitan surroundings. The range of emotions and sentiments experienced by
Gill is common to most of the unfairly treated immigrants. The supercilious
attitude of the mainstream citizens, hurtful insults and motivated racial
assaults cripple them both physically and psychologically and, as a reaction to
the feeling of hurt, they take recourse in voicing their protest through the
medium of writing10
Gill’s poetry collection Songs
Before Shrine vividly conveys the alienation
and isolation felt by an artist. In the poem “Birth of Poems” Gill writes:
Poets free
the birds of their blood
and
weave purrs and growls
with a single loom.
They are cats
walking in the darkness of solitude11
In another poem
“Isle of Art,” the poet paints the picture of an isolated island that provides
him peace and comfort, and serves as a retreat “from the life-stifling
smoke/from the heartbreak house.”12 Further in the poem “The World of
Poetry,” the poet writes:
The world of poetry
is woven with
rainbow strings
sorted in the
secret caves of desire
to recreate
the source of
that supreme grace
that evolves
in the womb of
solitary hours
during the
creative nights of its conception13
However, the desire
for peace and solitude, expressed in these lines, seems to be a prerequisite
for artistic creation. It should not be seen as one with the kind of social
alienation expressed elsewhere in Gill’s poetry.
The recurring voices of alienation suggest
a deep rooted existential angst in
the psyche of the poet. In the existential philosophy there are two
distinguishing “stages of Angst. In
the first instance, Angst is the
disturbing and ‘uncanny’ mood which summons a person to reflect on his individual
existence and its ‘possibilities’. It is this which people are more than ready
to pass off as a ‘funny turn’, returning with relief to the ‘tranquillizing’
ways of the ‘they’. But suppose a person ‘faces up’ to his Angst, accepting the truths about his existence which it intimates.
Then a number of options appear, including modulation into that resolute, sober
and ‘joyful’ Angst to which Heidegger
refers.”14 In Gill’s poetry these two successive stages
of Angst are clearly discernible.
In the poem “Me,”
the poet thoughtfully reflects over the possibilities of his own existence and
writes, “I want to ask/how I am/Let me find me/my smiles/my own hurts.”15
The poem titled “Self” also contains an enquiry after the true nature of the
poet’s existence, wherein he tries to seek his original self by peeping into
the mirror of psyche, surveying the landscapes of books, looking into the lakes
of strange eyes, swimming across the waters of solitude, roaming in the jungles
of thoughts and exploring mirages.16 After coming face to face with the disturbing
reality, the poet, however, does not pass it off as a ‘funny turn,’ he rather
faces up to it. Since “the kind of nirvana he contemplates comes neither from
renouncing the world nor sitting before the idols of gods and chanting their
names but in establishing a harmonious social order.”17 The
existential Angst positively
motivates him to strive for such “forms of thought and existence in which
people are ‘at home’ with their world and each other, but not at the cost of
‘losing themselves’”18 Gill’s
anxiety is rooted in his desire for making this world a better place, for which
he incessantly strives in his poetry. Maryanne Raphael rightly describes his
poetry and writes,
his poems are strong and yet tender, mysterious at
times; at others, comfortable and comforting, like old slippers to be worn
around the house. But he does not allow us to relax for long, for suddenly
there is a scorpion of a metaphor ready to shock us into an
awareness necessary for our psychological and spiritual growth.
Stephen’s poetry penetrates our most private perceptions. No matter how
unthreatening and restful it may appear, there is always a surprise to jolt us
forward, much like the power of a koan.19
Gill seeks to ward off the ghost of
alienation by escaping, very often, in the peaceful world of the dove, which is
a recurring image in his poetry. In the poem “To a Dove,” Gill says that
“enveloped by my own shadows/I dare to enter your brave world/of rainbow colours/which nourish your flowing life.”20
In another poem “Flight of
the Dove,” Gill depicts the world of dove as unblemished from the faults of
human beings:
I hear
some unknown
voice calling her
to be above
the confusing cries
of mindless
feverishness
and the hounds of alienation
from the houses
of infamy
of social upheavals.21
In
fact, image of ‘dove’ emerges rather prominently in Gill’s poetry and it is
pregnant with some deep meaning and significance. Explaining the symbolic
significance of ‘dove’ in different religions and cultures, Gill states:
the name dove is given to a bird in the pigeon family.
Doves live throughout the world from deserts to tropical forests. Due to its
soft cooing sound and affectionate disposition it is symbolized as the emblem
of peace. Among Christians, it is used for God’s love in any manifestation. In
Christian art it often symbolizes hope, peace, Holy Spirit and even martyrdom.
The dove also signifies the soul as well as gentleness and purity22
.
In Gill’s poetry also ‘dove’ carries
different connotations at different places. Sometimes it is symbolic of peace,
other times of poetic imagination, and at still other it signifies divine
grace. The imagery of ‘dove,’ in all its varied manifestations, appears to be
suggesting cure for the alienated soul of the poet and encouraging him on the
path of attaining a fuller existence.
Another
significant aspect of Gill’s poetry is that the alienation of the poet is not a
self-inflicted exile; it is due to the circumstances of his being that he finds
himself aloof from the general current of humanity. The sense of seclusion
naturally gives a melancholic tone to his poetry. In R. K. Singh’s opinion,
“the overall atmosphere created in the poems reflecting his sociopolitical
awareness is one of gloom and despair with a degree of pronounced melancholia.
Disappointment is the keynote of this melancholia, whether with edgy
complications of social insecurity or with insoluble problems of political
instability.”23 But deep in
his heart there is also a desire to assimilate in the mainstream of life.
Praising Gill for spreading the message of mutual love and tolerance Rochelle
L. Holt writes,
While most
are struggling in the Nineties to stress the differences of many cultures,
Stephen Gill is professing the opposite, a more complex cognition which the
masses have not yet learned in yearning for separate glorification of each
race, each colour, each sex, each age. . . . the poet tells
us through his work that we are beyond brotherhood and sisterhood as we achieve
the forgotten meaning of “neighbourhood,” not
isolated and separate but one large melting pot where we all appreciate our
uniqueness while affirming our similarities24 .
In the poem “Go Back,” Gill asserts that
he considers himself an inseparable part of the country of his migration, that
is,
I came here
carrying the lily of my dreams.
I have offered
the boon of my life
to my new mother
and the warmth of my blood
to the snow25
Gill expresses his full faith in the notion of universal
brotherhood and appeals to his detractor that he should give up his
parochialism, since “the world has become a village/where no one is an island
to self/anymore/anymore.”26 In his poem “My Canada” from the
collection Songs Before Shrine, Gill
praises
Thy soul
a serene temple
for every creed
for every breed.
My heart will sing
always for thee
my lips will chant
night and day for thee
Gill feels that in
freedom is
discovered only in the act, is one with the act; it is the foundation of the
connections and interactions which constitute the internal structure of the
act; it never is enjoyed but is revealed in and by its products; it is not an
inner power of snatching one’s self out of the most urgent situations, for
there is no outside or inside for man. But it exists, on the contrary, for
engaging one’s self in present action and constructing a future, it is that by
which there is born a future which permits understanding and changing the
present.28
In Gill’s opinion poets should exercise
their creative power to influence the society, he states that the
poets are involved with many aspects of life . . . . Lorca and Byron
gave their lives for the cause of liberation. Among the written documents, the Vedas, the Bible, and the Koran
have a great impact on the minds of people. Lately, Pentagon papers concerning
the Vietnam War have changed the thinking of several Americans, and a book
titled Uncle
Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher
Gill’s poetic
vision aspires to change the unfortunate condition of the present by envisaging
a glorious future full of “unconditional love and global peace through a
democratically elected world government.”30 Ultimately, he believes in the life of
action, not of renouncement. He is self-avowedly a committed poet, who wishes
to convey the message of harmonious co-existence to the strife-torn humanity
and soothe its bruised soul. Thus the Angst
of alienation in Gill’s poetry acts as a catalyst in catapulting him on his
journey in search of a meaningful and spiritually fulfilling existence.
Works Cited
1Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
2Khatri, C. L. Rev. of Shrine by Stephen Gill, Poetcrit (
3Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
4----------------------------Benson:
5Jaspers,
Karl. “Existenzphilosophie.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter
Kaufmann.
6Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
7Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
8Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
9Gill, Stephen. Shrine. Benson:
10Singh,
R. K. and Mitali De Sarkar. “A Search for Elysium.” The Mawaheb
International (
,June
1998
11 Gill, Stephen. Songs Before
Shrine.
12Gill, Stephen. --------------------------------------------------------------------
13Gill, Stephen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
14Cooper,
David E. Existentialism.
15Gill, Stephen. Songs Before
Shrine.
16Gill, Stephen.--------------------------------------------------------------------
17Chambial,
D. C. “Songs for Harmony.” 1999.
18Cooper,
David E. Existentialism.
19Raphael,
Maryanne. “Gill’s Poetry Enriches
Our Life.” Bridge-in-Making (
Jan.-April
1998, pages 41-45
20Gill, Stephen. Songs Before
Shrine.
21Gill, Stephen. Shrine,
22Sarangi,
Jaydeep.
Interview with Stephen Gill.
2007.
<http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/newsdetails.php?newsid=544>.
23Singh,
R. K. and Mitali De Sarkar. “A Search for Elysium.” The Mawaheb
International (
,June
1998
24Holt,
Rochelle L. “A Call for Peace.”
1992. The Pilot (
25Gill, Stephen. Songs Before
Shrine.
26Gill, Stephen--------------------------------------------------------------------
27Gill, Stephen.------------------------------------------------------------------
28Grene,
Marjorie. Introduction to Existentialism.
29Agarwal,
N. K. “Stephen Gill on His Writing and Diaspora.” Asian Tribune.
*This paper is to be included in the forthcoming book Discovering Stephen Gill :A Collection of Papers and Articles, edited by Dr. Nilanshu Agarwal.
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Shweta Saxena is a Research Scholar with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
at IIT,