Description
Memory and Landscapes examines the impact of the literary and journalistic contributions of W. S. Arthur, Hilton Vaughan, Karl Sealy, and A. N. Forde, key contributors to the shaping of Barbadian and West Indian writing. Where the early works of Jamaican writers such as Thomas McDermott and H. G. deLisser and Trinidadians Alfred Mendes and Albert Gomes have been the subject of exploration and exposition, there has been little to no critical study on their Barbadian counterparts.
In addressing this gap, Zoanne Evans analyses the contributions of Arthur, Vaughan,Sealy, and Forde in laying the foundation for what is now known as West Indian Literature. Their challenge of the colonial norms in a creolized society that held fast to racial and class divides and the negative stereotyping of the Black working class was a precursor to the creation and development of a national literature and cultural identity.
About Author
Zoanne Evans holds a PhD in Literatures in English from The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, where she is an instructor in the Academic Literacies programme.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
Theoretical Framework xvii
West Indian Writing in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries xxx
W. S. Arthur: Against a Tradition of Discontinuity 1
The Nature Poems and Local Flora 4
Gender Representation in Arthur’s Poems 22
Country, Villages, Town, and Landmarks (The Windmill) 32
Poems of War, Race, and Racism 45
H. A. Vaughan: Guardian of Heritage 54
Odes to Great Men 57
Poems of Nature, Praise, Rebuke, and Love 62
Nature and Love 68
In Acknowledgement of the Working Class 70
Black Beauty, Local Culture, and Life 72
The Importance of the Forum Magazine 78
Karl Sealy: Poet, Storyteller, Columnist 83
Race and Class in the Short Stories 83
Migration as a Means of Escape and Upward Mobility 94
‘The Old Time Way’: The Impact of Sealy’s Upbringing
on His Work 102
Love, Marriage, Family, and Relationships 107
The Writer as Pioneer and Literary Historian 121
A. N. Forde: Preserver of the Past 126
Race, Class, and Politics 130
The Family and the Father Figure in Forde’s
Short Stories 148
The Beginnings of Nationalism: Preserver of the Past 156
Conclusion 167
Appendix 173
Appendix I:
Photos of the Four Authors 173
Appendix II:
Programme for W. S. Arthur’s 100th Birthday
Celebrations at the Public Library 175
Appendix III:
Letter to W. S. Arthur from British Publisher 176
Appendix IV:
Visit by dLOC Librarian 177
Appendix V:
Extract from Karl Sealy’s Column
‘The Old Time Way’ 179
Appendix VI:
Handwritten Biography on A. N. Forde 180
Bibliography 183
