Against Indifference: Lyric Documentation in Khaled Mattawa’s Mare Nostrum (2019)

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the significance of Khaled Mattawa’s collection of poems, Mare Nostrum (2019), a lyrical documentation of illegal migration. Mattawa’s poetry integrates information and poetic form to bear witness to the plight of migrants and confront the issue of indifference and forgetfulness. The article argues that poetry can serve as a powerful tool to humanize the migrant experience, raising awareness and mobilizing global consciousness. By examining the political and aesthetic dimensions of Mattawa’s poetic documentation, the article demonstrates that literature has the potential to inspire free thought, challenge indifference and confront injustices surrounding migration. Overall, the article highlights the capacity of poetry to give voice to those whose epistemic agency is damaged and promote empathy and understanding among readers.

KEYWORDS:

• Khaled Mattawa
• Mare Nostrum
• lyric documentary
• migration
• mobility injustice
• epistemic injustice

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Notes on contributors

Hager Ben Driss

Hager Ben Driss is Associate Professor at the University of Tunis. She teaches Anglophone literature and her research interests centre on gender and postcolonial studies. She is editor of Women, Violence, and Resistance (2017) and Mobilizing Narratives: Narrating Injustices of (Im)Mobility (2021). She has published several articles on Arabic and Tunisian literature and translated numerous Tunisian poets’ texts into English.