In-betweenness Through Esther Nirina’s Works: Portrait of a Franco-Malagasy Poet

Abstract

Little-known in Spain, Esther Nirina was one of the best-known Francophone writers in Madagascar, her work forming part of a major corpus known as Indian Ocean literature. A model of hybridization between French and Malagasy cultures, Nirina represents a mise en abyme of a considerable segment of Malagasy society. Her in-between identity leads her to write poetry, which allows her to soothe the nostalgia she feels once she has settled in France. Drawing on literary anthropology and ecofeminism, I will examine how Nirina addresses themes such as the natural environment and its impact; the family and societal roles of women; and the global/local nexus in her quest for selfhood, as expressed in her three French-language poetry collections: Silencieuse respiration, Simple voyelle, and Lente spirale. The analysis makes it possible to group the ideas voiced by Nirina’s poetic voice into three categories: nature, women’s condition, and cosmopolitanism.