Trauma Engraved in Stone: Material Community and the Singularity of a Traumatic Affect in Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It”

The purpose of this article is to trace the behaviour a traumatic affect based on reading Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Facing It,” poetic ekphrasis Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Tracing manners in which war trauma worked through and acted out by speaker, paper discusses how eludes both compensating processes. At same time, nonhuman or inhuman features are analysed alongside agency memorial. intersection modes being makes it possible align discourses with materialist criticism. In addition, experience discussed its tactile connotations following poem Maya Lin’s commentaries her monument. Touch turns be potent category capable capturing dynamics promising trope new ethical together might founded. Hence, aim fourfold; attempts to: (1) analyse poem, informed selected developments criticism studies, illustrate expand trauma; (2) deepen our understanding intersections material traumatic; (3) investigate speculative reorganisation human boundaries, inspired help assessing trauma, necessarily resides at edges subjectivity; (4) propose figure vulnerable transformative limits revise community formulate an obligation for times we live in.