she uses her multicultural perspective throughout her writing
As a poet , artist and filmmaker , Dharker tries to raise awareness of how people in other cultures live
what is the poem about?
The Mumbai slums where millions of people live in hopes of a better life
people migrate all over india for a better life
The slums are living spaces created from lots of materials
There is limited access to electricity , clean water , food and education
there is alot of poverty in the slums
title - living space
suggest a lack of emotional connection or fondness , explicitly not a home and disorder in the slums
" There are just not enough straight line "
" Beams balance "
Alliteration ties the phrase together while the enjambment tears them apart much like the slums as there is tension in the connectedness of phrase
" that is the problem "
declarative sentence - critical tone makes it an observation suggesting the inability to do anything
" nails clutch at open seams "
personification of " nails " suggests the precarious existence and insecurity if the structures were to fall
" the whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous"
the line leans over the rest much like the irregularity of the slums
"miraculous" miracle the structure still stands despite the hardship
semantic field of precarity
" nothing is flat or parallel" fragility of the slums
" rough frame "
lack of finesse or recourses
" someone has squeezed "
vague language relate to the anonymous millions in slums - " squeezed " suggests the resourcefulness of the people that despite not fitting they still try
how does the second stanza reflect the context in living space?
the stanza itself is small and is squeezed between 2 larger poems
" And even dared to place "
suggests that someone is rebelling against the poor living conditions - courage in the face of precarious space
" these eggs in a wire basket "
egg symbolise the fragility and new life
" white" ,"light"
one of the few examples of end rhyme and both words have connotations of hope
" of a slanteduniverse "
could refer to the slums being massive but could also critisise the corrupted society and inequality in the world
" the bright, thin walls of faith"
reinforces the fragility of the slums inhabitants existence
" faith "
almost religious tone at end of poem ; it is the people belief that keeps them going
Structure
line lengths are uneven could symbolise the slums could fall down
how does the few rhymes contribute to the poem?
act as a way of holding the poem together similar to the nails of the poem