A wind is ...
... of the veldt.
Corpses are scattered ...
... these separate dead!"
Statistics justify and ...
... expendable as Jews?
Threshed out by ...
... or beast-teeming plain.
The violence of ...
... by inflicting pain.
Delirious as these ...
... by the dead.
Again brutish necessity ...
... with the superman.
I who am ...
... to the vein?
I who have ...
... Africa and live?
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
An Overview of Négritude — A discussion of the concept of Négritude developed by writer Aimé Césare, from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Césare's concerns can be usefully studied to both contrast with, and illuminate, Walcott's themes.
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to Derek Walcott read "A Far Cry From Africa."
The Mau Mau Uprising — A history of the Mau Mau Uprising, from the BBC.
Frantz Fanon and the Mau Mau — Frantz Fanon's important book on colonial revolution and independence, "The Wretched of the Earth," was heavily inspired by the Mau Mau Rebellion. For Fanon, the Mau Mau represent an essential phase of independence, one whose violence is a direct result of decades of violent colonial rule.
Walcott's Biography — A short biography of Walcott from Emory University.