Jamaican author (of European and African ancestry) H. G. De Lisser's novel the White Witch of Rosehall reflects arrogant European colonizing attitudes toward savage blacks in early 20th-century Jamaica
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
224 p., Marronage - the process of flight by slaves from servitude to establish their own hegemonies in inhospitable or wild territories - had its beginnings in the early 1500s in Hispaniola, the first European settlement in the New World. As fictional personae the maroons continue to weave in and out of oral and literary tales as central and ancient characters of Jamaica's heritage. Identifies the place of Jamaican fiction in the larger regional literature and focuses on its essential themes and strategies of discourse for conveying these themes.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
199 p, "At the center of Jamaican-born Michelle, Cliff's novels is the exploration of the interplay between memory and history. Noraida Agosto examines Cliff's representation of memory as the part of history that has been suppressed because of its revolutionary potential. Memories of slave rebellions, for instance, were erased through omission from official historical accounts to discourage resistance among slaves. Cliff's novels are an attempt to recover these erased memories, which could generate resistance to modern oppressions. This recovery of devalued memories also entails a validation of non-elite beliefs, languages, and art forms in order to debunk dominant practices." (Book jacket);
Earle,William (Author) and Aravamudan,Srinivas (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
2005
Published:
Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
255 p, "Three-fingered Jack," the protagonist of this 1800 novel, is based on the escaped slave and Jamaican folk hero Jack Mansong, who was believed to have gained his strength from the Afro-Caribbean religion of obeah, or "obi"--P.[4] of cover
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
399 p, Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.
Birbalsingh discusses Indo-Caribbean culture, and the origins and influences of Indo-Caribbean short stories, beginning with the marriage of Indian and African oral traditions. Several authors from throughout Indo-CAribbean literature are profiled, including A. R. F. Webber, V. S. Naipaul, and Samuel Selvon.;
Wynter,Sylvia (Author), Bogues,Anthony (Author), and Eudell,Demetrius Lynn (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
2010
Published:
Kingston ; Miami: I. Randle
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Originally published: London : J. Cape, 1962., 340 p., Written in the late 1950s on the cusp of Jamaica's independence from Britain, The Hills of Hebron tells the story of a group of formerly enslaved Jamaicans as they attempt to create a new life and assert themselves against the colonial power.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
331 p., Partly autobiographical, this novel looks at the racial politics of the 1950s and 1960s. Ramsay Tull is witness to the black racial discontents and the desire for national independence that are threatening the old colonial order; but when a chance comes to study at Oxford University, he becomes immersed in European literary culture and Marxism. On his return to Jamaica, Ramsay becomes actively involved in radical nationalist politics and begins his second journey, away from his middle-class origins and back to a true appreciation of the Jamaican people.
