Zanzibari Poetic Worlds

Abstract

This article draws on my PhD fieldwork, carried out in late 2019, for which I interviewed just under fifty Zanzibaris who were all involved in the production, performance, publication, and/or criticism of poetic works in Zanzibar. Poetry on the Swahili coast has been highly regarded for centuries and has formed a key part of knowledge production in Swahili society. Poetry remains ubiquitous in Zanzibar, as testified by the sheer quantity of poets who continue to produce, perform, and publish. These poets and their poetry, along with the relevant social and political institutions, play out struggles in a space that intersects all strata of society as they compete for literary capital or relevance. This article uses Pascale Casanova’s idea of a literary “world” or “space” to examine how a specifically Zanzibari poetic space functions, using two examples of poetic practices within this world. In particular, the article seeks to answer the following questions: how do artists, institutions, and poetry within this world relate to one another; what rules or norms govern this space; and how and why are these being adapted or developed to suit modern concerns?