Derridean Hauntology in Selected Poetry of Maya Angelou and Lucille Clifton

This paper deals with aspects of Derridean hauntology in the poetry of May Angelou and Lucille Clifton , two prominent , albeit understudied, African American women poets. Starting with an overview of Jacque Derrida’s postulations disclosed in his book Specters of Marx, the study is then to situate his theory in selected poetry by the two poets afore-mentioned with the attempt of showing how it helps delve deeper into the nuances of African American consciousness. The paper argues that given the intensive studies on specters, legacies and memories, what distinguishes Derrida’s theory is its tripartite link to temporality, existentialist being and hegemony. With Derrida asserting that specters control the present and the future and determine being and becoming besides governing the quest for hegemony, Derridean hauntology not only unsettles the taken-for-granted notions of temporality but also disrupts the conventional concepts of existentialist being and power. Bringing the three-aspected hauntology to Angelou and Clifton’s poetry helps shed light on the role of textuality and the author in the struggle over hegemony and in the attempt to reconcile the conflicting poles of being in the case of black American subjects. To achieve its objectives, the study is to follow an expository analytic approach wedding theory to practice and foregrounding the poetic devices that help hammer forth the Derridean perspective.