A Choreographic Dialogue with Caribbean Poetry: The Sacredness of the Feminine in Walcott's Omeros (1990)

The aim of this paper is to show how the poetry and art of Caribbean writer Derek Walcott (1930-2017) tends to manifest and substantiate the desirable cultural transformation promoted by the work of the American anthropologist and scholar Riane Eisler. The recognition and the exaltation of symbols connected to the feminine world stand at the core of Walcott’s masterpiece Omeros. In a creative mutual dialogue between different genres and identities, the Caribbean author materialises Eisler’s attempts to forge a type of society based on a new partnership ethic. In a second perspective, this paper analyses how Walcott’s work opens the path to possible creative interdisciplinary approaches in the world of the arts. In my own contribution, as a professional dancer and choreographer, I have tried to “give voice” through movements to some episodes relating to the feminine included in Omeros.