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Sierra Christensen

Naomi Shihab Nye and the Poetics of Dual-Identity

Naomi Shihab Nye is a prolific Arab-American poet born in 1952. Her Palestinian father

lost his home in Jerusalem, causing him to move to St. Louis Missouri—where Naomi was born.

Her mother is an American of German and Swiss descent, and the combination of her varied

heritage and open-minded parents is what lead her to travel and experience many different

cultures as a child and as an adult (Hirschfield). Nye has often referred to herself as a “wandering

poet”, having grown up in both St. Louis and Jerusalem, being raised by culturally diverse

parents, and traveling through the US and most of Europe. She has written several poetry books,

novellas, young-adult novels, and children’s books including ​Words Under the Words​, a poetry

collection published in 1995. ​In this book, Naomi Shihab Nye explores the concept and struggle

of dual-identity through the use of allegory, antithesis, and personification in her poem “At

Portales, New Mexico”.

To begin, an understanding of the term “dual-identity” is important. In general, having a

dual-identity “means being caught between two worlds… two cultures and often languages…”

(Abraham). In other words it is simply when a person feels strongly connected to two cultures.

For Arab-Americans, it is a greatly complicated matter, especially with more current events like

the 9/11 attack. An Arab-American, Raesah Et’Tawil, spoke on the matter in a panel about the

issues she faced while growing up Arab-American. In her words, “I am a representation of my

culture whether I want to be or not. There is no set meaning as to what Arab or American or both

is. Here I am this southern American Arab woman what defines me, who am I?” (Ibrahim). For
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Nye specifically, it means belonging in both her father’s homeland and her own. However

dual-identity is not just a definition—it is an ongoing struggle between two halves of a whole.

If someone were to ask what it means to be an American, there would be various

answers. It would be the same to ask an Arabian what being an Arabian means. So trying to

determine both, and how they both fit into your life, while trying to gently educate everyone

around you about your heritage and genuinely representing your people simultaneously is a

struggle nigh impossible to imagine. Nye spends several poems and collections trying to express

this, and this poem is a part of that effort.

Nye begins “At Portales, New Mexico” with an allegory that lasts the length of the poem.

She uses tumbleweeds as symbols for several different people, including immigrants to the

United States, her father’s ancestry, and herself. In her first stanza specifically, ​Nye uses

personification similarly to her use of allegory: to represent those people and specific attributes.

The only explicitly mentioned quality attributed to those symbolized by the tumbleweed is

loyalty in line fifteen, however there are many actions and even habits of the tumbleweed that

imply that they are indeed people and not just sticks. In lines one through six, Nye describes

these tumbleweeds by their actions, rather than directly. “​They spoke of tumbleweeds / coming

to their doors in the night, / whole herds of them scooting across the desert, / arriving at any

place there was a wall. / and staying”​ (Nye 1-6).

This personified imagery really sets the scene for her further discussion of being lost and

rootless in one’s new home. Even though she was born in America, Nye still greatly identifies

with her Arabian descent, whether because of her father’s influence on her life or because of the

time she spent in Palestine as a child. Her father is, or was for a long period of time, a rootless
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Arabian tumbleweed blowing around on the American land. Her grandma, who Nye was close

with before her death, was another tumbleweed from Palestine lost on the unwelcoming new

land. Perhaps Nye is using these tumbleweeds to describe what her family have described to her,

or perhaps comparing what she has experienced in her visits to Palestine to what she has lived

with in America.

The second stanza is a little darker when considering the metaphor, but when one focuses

more on the actions and reactions taken by the citizens of Portales, New Mexico the allegory

deepens into a more personified story. Lines ten through sixteen read:

“Their neighbor tried fire

but his living room went up in flames.

You couldn’t fit a tumbleweed in a garbage sack

unless it was a baby one.

If you swept them across the street

they would return to you, loyal,

on the next powerful gust. (Nye, 10-16)”

As you can see the residents did not appreciate the presence of these tumbleweeds, tried

violence (which didn’t work) and less intense removal to somewhere else. This action was also

negated by the loyal return of those tumbleweeds. In these first two stanzas the tumbleweeds can

be interpreted as immigrants to the US. They, like Nye’s father, came to America in search of a

better life, where they were very unwelcome. Yet they wanted to be here, to stay, to have a place.

So they “would return to you, loyal” (15). The only explicit personification in this stanza is the
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labeling of the tumbleweeds as loyal, despite the previously poor treatment. This loyalty may be

born out of desperation, because anywhere else they have to go is worse than here, or because

they feel they have a right to scoot to a wall and stay till they are removed. There is also an

obvious comparison and perhaps antithesis between the locals and the tumbleweeds, which

symbolizes her family and her American home. This antithesis is especially pronounced in lines

25-29, which reads, “​Where they grew up a root meant something. / Trees lived a hundred years /

and bulbs slept secure in the ground. / But here in the West, / the days were flat tables spread

with wind, (25-29)”

The general antithesis is prominent as Nye’s father or others with dual-american

identities, but one gets the feeling it goes even deeper. The tumbleweeds themselves are also

symbolic of culture, both of Arab and American. These tumbleweeds used to be roots and

branches, part of a larger tree of heritage and history; but they have been severed and set loose.

While New Mexico is basically a desert state, and Palestine is also desert-like, Palestine is

known for its massive and ancient olive trees that play a paramount role in their survival, culture,

and religious association. New Mexico has no such famed trees. Olive trees have expansive

branches and even wider-spread roots. However, when a branch is severed from that tree, it dries

up, and in a windy place like the plains of New Mexico, it could likely get tangled into a

tumbleweed. This is symbolic of Nye’s father and grandmother, who were a part of the

community and culture of Palestine, but were severed and set loose into windy Chicago, where

they felt lost struggled to take root.

Nye’s personal identity is represented in this analogy as well. She was born in America,

equating her to the residents of Portales in her poem. However, her father and her time in
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Palestine leave her applicable to the tumbleweeds’ situation as well. With Nye’s father being

Arab, 9/11 affected them greatly. As she was quoted in a profile on the Washington Report on

Middle Eastern Affairs, “The actions and reactions of 9/11 wounded my two hearts” (Hirshfield).

Because she had too much to care for in her heart, she has two. Her American heart and her Arab

heart both hurt for the terrible act of violence against the Americans, and the hurt that is soon

coming to the Arabs, both at home and abroad. In a sense we can all have two hearts at times,

when we care about two things or people who cannot coexist. It is almost like a family

disagreement between your mother and your grandfather; you love both, you respect one

especially, but you live with the other, and so you just hurt twice while they disagree.

In conclusion, Naomi Shihab Nye uses a variety of literary devices and her personal

background to communicate her chosen message and the implicit and perhaps unconscious

message of dual-identity and the involved struggles. “At Portales, New Mexico” is a perfect

example of how dual-identity struggles can shape a person, poet, or author as they discover

where they fit into this world. Naomi Shihab Nye is a brilliant poet who simultaneously speaks

for her peoples and speaks for herself., I invite anyone who feels the tension of two cultures or

sets of interests to turn to Nye’s poetry to find that you are not alone in that struggle, and to use

her process as a stepping stone in yours.

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Works Cited

Abraham, Abraham Panavelil. "Negotiating Boundaries: Arab-American Poetry and the

Dilemmas of Dual Identity." ​Language in India​, vol. 10, no. 6, June 2010. EBSCO​host​,

dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&

AN=2017930144&site=ehost-live.

Hirschfield, R. (2006). Naomi shihab nye: Portrait of a palestinian-american poet. ​The

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 25​(6), 73-74. Retrieved from

https://login.dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.dist.lib.usu.edu/docvi

ew/218794740?accountid=14761. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.

“Hugging the Jukebox.” ​Words Under the Words​, by Naomi Shihab Nye, 1st ed., Far Corner

Books, 1995, pp. 88–87.

Ibrahim, Mahin. "Growing Up Arab American."​ The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs​,

vol. 23, no. 7, 2004, pp. 71​, ProQuest​, https://login.dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=https://

search-proquest-com.dist.lib.usu.edu/docview/218776167?accountid=14761. ^^^^^^^