Quote by Derek Walcott: “I who am poisoned with the blood of both, where shall I turn?”

Born of two heritages that colonial history forced into opposition, Walcott describes the genuine psychic pain of mixed identity — carrying the blood of both enslaver and enslaved. There is no neutral ground, and no simple answer about where loyalty or belonging should lie.

Walcott published 'A Far Cry from Africa' in his 1962 collection In a Green Night, but the themes deepened throughout his 1970s work as Caribbean nations gained independence and grappled with questions of cultural identity. The poem engages with the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya and the violence of decolonization.

Saint Lucian poet and playwright who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. His work explored Caribbean identity, the colonial legacy, and the relationship between European and African cultures, with his epic poem Omeros considered his masterpiece.