Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): Global More-than-Human Histories of Palms
Mobilities, Diasporas, and Translocal Ecologies

Transatlantic Ecologies of the African Oil Palm: Photo-Poetic Explorations of the Intimacies of Diaspora

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  • Gbenga Adesina,
  • Case Watkins
Gbenga Adesina
James Madison University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3197/whppp.63876246815929

Published 2026-09-16

Keywords

  • photography,
  • poetry,
  • political ecology,
  • palm oil,
  • landscapes,
  • Costa do Dendê,
  • Bahia,
  • Atlantic World,
  • African diaspora,
  • Afro-Brazil
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Adesina, Gbenga, and Case Watkins. 2026. “Transatlantic Ecologies of the African Oil Palm: Photo-Poetic Explorations of the Intimacies of Diaspora”. Plant Perspectives 3 (2):238-65. https://doi.org/10.3197/whppp.63876246815929.

Copyright (c) 2026 Gbenga Adesina, Case Watkins

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This collaborative, experimental essay considers, feels and relates stories that emerge from the transatlantic diaspora of the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq). Grounded in photographs from Bahia, Brazil, a poet and a geographer respond to the images and to each other with theoretical narratives and poetic meditations. Exchanging in these various modes, we explore a range of intimate ecologies, landscapes and foodways forged by coalitions of palms and people in diaspora.

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