The
U.S. debut of internationally acclaimed poet and performance artist
Shailja Patel, Migritude
is a tour-de-force hybrid text that confounds categories and
conventions. Part poetic memoir, part political history, Migritude
weaves together family history, reportage and monologues to create an
achingly beautiful portrait of women's lives and migrant journeys
undertaken under the boot print of Empire. Patel, who was born in
Kenya and educated in England and the U.S., honed her poetic skills
in performances of this work that have received standing ovations
throughout Europe, Africa and North America. She has been described
by the Gulf Times as "the poetic equivalent of Arundhati Roy"
and by CNN as "the face of globalization as a people-centered
phenomenon of migration and exchange." Migritude
includes interviews with the author, as well as performance notes and
essays.