Jamaican literature - Wikipedia Jamaican literature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jamaican literature" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Jamaican literature is internationally renowned, with the island of Jamaica being the home or birthplace of many important authors. One of the most distinctive aspects of Jamaican literature is its use of the local dialect — a variation of English, the country's official language. Known to Jamaicans as "patois", and now sometimes described as "nation language", this creole has become an important element in Jamaican fiction, poetry and theater. Notable writers and intellectuals from elsewhere in the Caribbean region studied at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, including St. Lucian Nobel prize-winner, Derek Walcott, the late Guyanese historian and scholar Walter Rodney, and Grenadian poet and short story writer Merle Collins. Contents 1 Folk beginnings 2 Development of the literature 3 Notable Jamaican writers 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Folk beginnings[edit] The tradition of storytelling in Jamaica is a long one, beginning with folktales told by the slaves during the colonial period. Jamaica's folk stories are most closely associated with those of the Ashanti tribe in West Africa, from which many of the slaves originated.[1] Some European tales were also brought to the island by immigrants, particularly those from the United Kingdom. In folktales, the local speech style is particularly necessary. It infuses humor into the stories, and is an integral part of the retelling. Perhaps the most popular character in Jamaican tales, Anancy (also spelled Anansi, 'Nancy Spida, and Brer Nansi) is an African spider-god who makes an appearance in tales throughout the Caribbean region. He is a trickster god, and often goes against other animal-god characters, like Tiger and Donkey, in his stories. These stories are thought to be one way the slaves told about outsmarting their owners as well. Development of the literature[edit] Jamaican Thomas MacDermot (1870–1933) is credited with fostering the creation of Jamaican literature (according to critic Michael Hughes, MacDermot was "probably the first Jamaican writer to assert the claim of the West Indies to a distinctive place within English-speaking culture"),[2] and his Becka's Buckra Baby[3] as the beginning of modern Caribbean literature. Jamaican-born Claude McKay (1889–1948) is credited with inspiring France's Negritude (“Blackness”) movement, as well as being a founding father of the Harlem Renaissance. Having established himself as a poet in Jamaica, he moved to the U.S. in his 20s and proceeded to travel to France, but never returned to his birthplace. Una Marson (1905–1965) was also well known for her poetry, her activism as a feminist, and for her role as producer of the BBC literary radio programme Caribbean Voices in the 1940s. Louise Bennett-Coverley (1919–2006) was a Jamaican poet and folklorist celebrated for her unique voice as "Miss Lou". Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican patois, Bennett was instrumental in having this "dialect" of the people given literary recognition in its own right ("nation language"). Other Jamaican writers who have gained international acclaim include Hazel Dorothy Campbell (1940–2018), Mikey Smith (1954–1983) and Linton Kwesi Johnson. In 2014, Mervyn Morris was appointed Poet Laureate of Jamaica.[4] He was succeeded in 2017 by Lorna Goodison.[5] Notable Jamaican writers[edit] Opal Palmer Adisa, writer, poet, performance artist Lindsay Barrett, poet, novelist, journalist Edward Baugh, poet and scholar Louise Bennett-Coverley, poet, folklorist, actress, educator James Berry, poet, anthologist Eliot Bliss, novelist and poet Jonathan Braham, novelist Erna Brodber, novelist, poet Margaret Cezair-Thompson Colin Channer, novelist, short-story writer Kwame Dawes, poet, critic Jean D'Costa, novelist, scholar Herbert de Lisser, journalist and author Ferdinand Dennis, novelist, journalist and broadcaster Marcia Douglas, novelist, poet, performer Gloria Escoffery, painter, poet and art critic Esther Figueroa, novelist, environmental activist, filmmaker John Figueroa, poet, educator Honor Ford-Smith, actress, playwright, scholar and poet Ifeona Fulani, novelist, educator Lorna Goodison, poet John Hearne, novelist, journalist and teacher A. L. Hendriks, poet and critic Nalo Hopkinson, science fiction writer Marlon James, novelist Evan Jones, poet, novelist Linton Kwesi Johnson, poet Barbara Lalla, novelist, scholar Thomas MacDermot, poet, novelist and editor Roger Mais, novelist Rachel Manley, memoirist, poet Una Marson, poet, playwright Shara McCallum, poet, essayist Diana McCaulay, novelist, short story writer, environmental activist Claude McKay, poet and novelist Anthony McNeill, poet Una Marson, poet, playwright, journalist Kei Miller, poet Pamela Mordecai, poet, novelist, short story writer Mervyn Morris, poet, scholar, essayist Mutabaruka, poet Rex Nettleford, scholar, social critic Cyril Palmer, writer Orlando Patterson, historical and cultural sociologist Geoffrey Philp, poet, novelist, playwright Velma Pollard, poet, novelist, short story writer Patricia Powell, novelist Claudia Rankine, poet, playwright V. S. Reid, novelist Trevor Rhone, playwright and film maker Leone Ross, novelist, short story writer, journalist Heather Royes, poet Gillian Royes, novelist Andrew Salkey, novelist, poet Dennis Scott, poet, playwright Olive Senior, poet, novelist, short story writer Tanya Shirley, poet, scholar M. G. Smith, poet Mikey Smith, poet Ralph Thompson, poet Anthony C. Winkler, novelist Sylvia Wynter, novelist, dramatist, critic, essayist Kerry Young, novelist[6] See also[edit] List of Jamaican books List of Jamaican writers References[edit] ^ Rebecca Tortello, "Pieces of the Past: The Arrival Of The Africans". A Jamaica Gleaner Feature, 3 February 2004. ^ Michael Hughes, A Companion to West Indian Literature, Collins, 1979, p. 75. ^ Becka’s Buckra Baby is available openly and freely online from the Digital Library of the Caribbean. ^ Rowe, Marcia (2014), "Poet Laureate Morris Honoured At King's House", Jamaica Gleaner, 24 May 2014. ^ Richard Johnson, "Goodison is poet laureate", Jamaica Observer, 20 March 2017. ^ "Kerry Young", Literature British Council. External links[edit] Becka’s Buckra Baby from the Digital Library of the Caribbean (1904) One Brown Girl and - a Jamaica Story from the Digital Library of the Caribbean (1909) Also in the All Jamaica Library, but not written by Thomas MacDermot, Maroon Medicine, by E. A. Dodd (listed as E. Snod) from the Digital Library of the Caribbean v t e Jamaica articles History Arawaks Taínos Atlantic slave trade British conquest Governors Port Royal Piracy Maroons 1692 earthquake First Maroon War Tacky's War Second Maroon War Baptist War Morant Bay rebellion 1907 earthquake British West Indies West Indies Federation Hurricane Charley Hurricane Ivan Geography Cities Fauna Flora Islands Parishes Rivers Water resources Politics Attorney general Cabinet Chief Justice Constitution Elections Foreign relations Governor-General Judiciary Law enforcement LGBT rights Military Monarchy Parliament Political parties Prime Minister Economy Central bank Dollar (currency) Free trade zones Stock exchange Telecommunications Transport Society Crime Demographics Education Ethnic groups Languages Religion Water supply and sanitation Culture Anthem Cinema Coat of arms Cuisine Flag Heritage sites Literature Music Newspapers Public holidays Sport Television stations Outline Index Category Portal v t e North American literature Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamaican_literature&oldid=977721334" Categories: Jamaican literature North American literature Hidden categories: Articles needing additional references from September 2014 All articles needing additional references Region topic template using suffix Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Patois 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 September 2020, at 15:30 (UTC). 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