Bay, Hatice2023-06-082023-06-082023Bay, Hatice. "The Ocean as a Queer Black Utopian Space: Rivers Solomon’s The Deep." Eds. Lewis S. A. & Wattley A. S. (2023). Bodies of water in african american literature music and film. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.1527502104https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12695/2078The Deep (2019), written by Rivers Solomon (with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes), a non-binary black writer, explores the concept of the ocean as a black utopian space. This fantasy tale delves into the world of the wajinru, an underwater mermaid society known as the chorus of the deep. The wajinru are descendants of pregnant women thrown overboard during the transatlantic journey to the Americas and the Caribbean. Within the underwater narrative, the story delves into themes of generational trauma, environmental degradation, cultural memory, communal obligation, and the complexities of bodies, genders, memories, emotions, and relationships, with a focus on the protagonist Yetu. By employing the theoretical framework of black utopia studies, this analysis highlights that Solomon’s construction of the oceanic black utopian society resists being categorized within any hegemonic framework. Solomon not only presents alternative social structures but also explores alternative dimensions of existence. The novel brings forth a perspectival sea change, emphasizing the interconnectedness of existence within a broader ecological context. Moreover, Solomon examines the idea of a gender-fluid and expanding black utopian society. The Deep incorporates body and genital diversity, and the wajinru exhibit a self-critical and improvisational nature. In this black utopian society, collective formation and kinship are continuously evolving and under construction. In conclusion, the ocean in The Deep transcends being a site solely associated with painful memories, rupture, and discontinuity. Instead, it becomes a moldable, resilient space that embraces the fragmented experiences of those whose lives were never meant to be considered livable. The novel gives rise to a black utopian society that rejects solid ground and instead embraces more ecological, fragile, and queer visions of life, history, existence, and freedom.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessThe Deepblack utopiaunderwater societygenerational traumacommunal obligationqueerBook Chapter3444