Cartogra/Poetry: The Use Of Maps in Poetry

Abstract

Cartography has long been serving humanity for various purposes. In the earlier periods of map-making, maps were regarded as purely technical products representing the geographical reality just as it was. In the course of time, however, they started to be seen as the recreation of a selective reality reflecting on the economic, cultural, and ideological positions and interests of certain groups, societies, or nations. This has led maps to be employed as images, metaphors, or symbols to be used in literature, particularly in poetry. Thus, maps have become impressively alluring texts to entail more than they represent, which provides them with the power of being a source of reference as well as a work of art appealing to the imagination of poets. In this context, this essay focuses on how the map image has been used particularly in poetic texts with respect to the changing perceptions about the making and reading of maps. For this purpose, a selection of poems, written in or translated into English, will be analyzed. These poems, which will be examined under two categories, use maps as their subject matter or source of inspiration, play with their metaphorical or symbolic meanings, and refer to their dual nature as both the representation and distortion of selective reality.