Recalling Traumatic Memory in Hyginus Ekwuazi’s That Other Country
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70091/Atras/vol07no02.08Keywords:
Hyginus Ekwuazi, memorability of trauma, Nigerian Civil War, Speakability of trauma, That Other CountryAbstract
The Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970 has continued to enrich the tradition of African war literature. Decades after the tragic event, those who witnessed the war and those who benefit postmemorially from accounts by witnesses continue to mediate their direct and vicarious experiences artistically. While Hyginus Ekwuazi's That Other Country belongs to one of the recent engagements with the war, it offers the most sustained versification on the experience. Although his verse in this regard, which borders on memorialization, has attracted critical attention, this paper extends this engagement by exploring the traumatic nature of the memory depicted in the collection. Drawing on theoretical insights from Joshua Pederson's revised literary trauma theory, the paper argues that trauma is indeed both memorable and speakable. It shows that the poet persona's memory of the war experience as a teenager remains accessible not just in the form of a belated traumatic return, but also as a witness who can relate his experience, firstly to his lover and secondly to his literary audience through That Other Country.
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