Between Here and Elsewhere: The Politics of Belonging in Dharker’s The Terrorist at My Table

Abstract

Imtiaz Dharker’s The Terrorist at My Table situates itself within the shifting terrain of postcolonial and diasporic literature, exploring the politics of belonging in a globalized world shaped by colonial legacies and contemporary anxieties. This paper examines Dharker’s poetry through the theoretical frameworks of hybridity (Homi Bhabha) and diasporic identity (Stuart Hall), emphasizing how her work reflects both fragmentation and resilience in cultural selfhood. Dharker’s transnational biography—Pakistani origins, Scottish upbringing, and residence in London—infuses her poetry with a layered diasporic consciousness that interrogates rigid definitions of identity, nation, and home. Through close readings of key poems such as “The Right Word,” “They’ll Say: ‘She Must Be From Another Country,’” and “The Habit of Departure,” the analysis highlights Dharker’s use of irony, questioning, and satire to destabilize authoritative discourses of terrorism, migration, and otherness. Her work critiques exclusionary practices that marginalize diasporic individuals while simultaneously celebrating hybridity as a creative and transformative force. The recurring motifs of displacement and departure underscore an existential dimension of diaspora, situating Dharker’s poetic voice in the liminal “third space” where new meanings and identities emerge. In addition, Dharker foregrounds gender as a crucial element in diasporic negotiations, presenting women as agents who resist and redefine their identities against patriarchal and cultural constraints. By situating Dharker within both postcolonial and Scottish literary traditions, this paper argues that The Terrorist at My Table contributes a distinct voice to global literature, challenging monolithic narratives and advocating for inclusivity, multiplicity, and empathy.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199392045.2025.75-82