Quote by M. NourbeSe Philip: “The body remembers what the mind forgets.”

This poignant statement speaks to the deep-seated trauma and historical memory held within the physical self, especially in contexts of severe historical injustice. It suggests that even when conscious memory fades, the body retains the experience.

The late 2000s witnessed a growing interdisciplinary focus on trauma studies and embodied memory, especially regarding historical atrocities like the transatlantic slave trade. Philip's groundbreaking poem 'Zong!' explores how the physical body carries the indelible marks of ancestral pain.

Trinidadian-Canadian poet and essayist whose experimental work confronts the violence of colonial language and legal systems. Her 2008 poetry collection Zong! reconstructs the legal decision in the Zong massacre — in which enslaved people were thrown overboard for insurance money — from the original court documents.