Zong! (Wesleyan Poetry Series)
In Zong!, M. NourbeSe Philip transforms the Zong slave ship atrocity into a haunting poetic exploration. Using fragmented legal texts and innovative verse, the collection confronts historical violence, memory, and the erasure of Black voices, challenging readers to reckon with the past's enduring shadows.
About This Book
Zong! is part of the Wesleyan Poetry Series, authored by M. NourbeSe Philip. This collection draws from the infamous 1781 Zong massacre, where enslaved Africans were thrown overboard from a British slave ship to claim insurance.
The work employs a unique structure, incorporating legal texts and fragmented language to explore themes of violence, memory, and justice. Philip's approach challenges traditional narrative forms, creating a polyvocal text that resists easy resolution.
Through erasure and repetition, the poems evoke the erasure of Black lives in history. It invites readers to engage with the silences and gaps in archival records.
As a work of experimental poetry, Zong! bridges literature and law, prompting reflection on ongoing legacies of slavery and colonialism.
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