Literary studies: fiction Books

Book SynopsisFirst published in 1970, this pioneering account of the emergence of the West Indian Novel in English has been a the centre of the development of West Indian Literature as an academic discipline. In an intimate and firm introduction, Professor Ramchand writes about the putting together of The West Indian Novel and its Background and makes a challenging survey of the West Indian writing and criticism since 1970. Wearing his scholarship lightly, the author provides valuable insights into the social cultural and political background, offering concise and focused accounts of the growth of education, the development of literacy, the formation of West Indian Creole languages, and the making of the region’s written literature. For this reason, it has served as a handbook for teachers and lecturers setting up courses in West Indian and Commonwealth literatures. This edition contains updated year-by-year and author biographies, features of the original that contributed to its reliability as a guide. Two new chapters have been fitted into the text: Earl Lovelace’s The Dragon Can’t Dance and Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners. First published in 1970, this pioneering account of the emergence of the West Indian Novel in English has been a the centre of the development of West Indian Literature as an academic discipline. In an intimate and firm introduction, Professor Ramchand writes about the putting together of The West Indian Novel and its Background and makes a challenging survey of the West Indian writing and criticism since 1970. Wearing his scholarship lightly, the author provides valuable insights into the social cultural and political background, offering concise and focused accounts of the growth of education, the development of literacy, the formation of West Indian Creole languages, and the making of the region’s written literature. For this reason, it has served as a handbook for teachers and lecturers setting up courses in West Indian and Commonwealth literatures. This edition contains updated year-by-year and author biographies, features of the original that contributed to its reliability as a guide.

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Book SynopsisSylvia Wynter’s work is distinctively Caribbean. From her exciting and rigorous interventions on `folk culture’ and its profound meaning for the symbolic universe of Caribbean reality, creative writing and the nature of Caribbean culture, to her present genealogical critique of Western humanism, Wynter has emerged as one of the region’s premier cultural and social theorists. This interdisciplinary collection offers a variety of interpretations of Sylvia Wynter’s work and seeks to cover the range of her thought. Her rich source of investigation of some of the compelling questions that currently face humanity makes her not just a major Caribbean figure, but a world-class intellectual. In its explorations of culture, literary theory and philosophy, this volume significantly expands the field of Caribbean intellectual history and will be useful for courses in Cultural Studies; Caribbean Studies; African-American Studies; Intellectual History and Critical Theory.

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Book SynopsisGeorge Lamming is one of the best known, certainly one of the most highly regarded contemporary writers from the Caribbean. Spanning nearly 60 years and encompassing fiction, poetry and critical essays, Lamming's writing covers the length and breadth of Caribbean intellectual, cultural, political and literary life. Credited as a part of that group of Caribbean activists who awoke the Caribbean to its identity and more specifically to its cultural identity, his works have focused on finding new political and social identity. Indeed, Lamming was a seminal figure in the Caribbean 20th century intellectual tradition and radical anti-colonial tradition. Lamming is best known for his novels. In the Castle of My Skin and The Emigrants take place in England and are largely autobiographical. Of Age and Innocence and Season of Adventure are set on the fictional Caribbean island of San Cristobal. In Water with Berries, the plot of Shakespeare's The Tempest is used to unmask the imperfections of West Indian society while his final novel, Natives of My Person, gives account of the voyage of a slave-trading ship on the triangular trade route from Europe to Africa to the New World colonies. In The Aesthetics of Decolonisation, friend and colleague Anthony Bogues pulls together Lamming's critical works, some previously published, some given as addresses, lectures and interviews. This is accompanied by critical reflections on Lamming's work by noted scholars such as Andaiye and Sandra Pouchet Paquet. This much needed reader on Lamming and his work examines the history of the Caribbean and the categories which continue to shape and influence Caribbean identity in our contemporary world.

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