Home Rhapsodies: Caryl Phillips and Cartography of Transgressivity

Abstract

Transgressivity, in a broad sense, denotes a state of movement from one distinct position, mode, or territory to another, be it spatial, geographical, mental, spiritual, or even narrative. Transgression occurs when one crosses boundaries, in other words, limes of different entities. Geocritical transgressivity, which is a multifaceted concept, may lead to a variety of interpretations at many different strata. Transgressivity finds echoes in Caryl Phillips's narratives, at times in geographical forms, where a deterritorialized character crosses borders without ever gaining reterritorialization, at other times, in his fragmented narration where the reader stands at a threshold. Our paper uses Phillips's A New World Order (2001) in particular as a key text through this geocritical lens of transgressivity to see to what extent it functions as the author's map legend that presents a cartographic pattern of his writing in general. Our discussion also focuses on Phillips's distinct analyses in A New World Order to shed light on his other narratives in a geocritical context.