Global InformationCaribbean poetry information
Caribbean poetry is vast and rapidly evolving field of poetry written by people from the Caribbean region and the diaspora.
Caribbean poetry generally refers to a myriad of poetic forms, spanning epic, lyrical verse, prose poems, dramatic poetry and oral poetry, composed in Caribbean territories regardless of language. It is most often, however, written in English, Spanish, Spanglish, French, Hindustani, Dutch, or any number of creoles. Poetry in English from the former British West Indies has been referred to as Anglo-Caribbean poetry or West Indian poetry.
Since the mid-1970s, Caribbean poetry has gained increasing visibility with the publication in Britain and North America of several anthologies.[1] Over the decades the canon has shifted and expanded, drawing both on oral and literary traditions and including more women poets and politically charged works.[2][3][4] Caribbean writers, performance poets, newspaper poets, singer-songwriters have created a popular art form, a poetry heard by audiences all over the world.[5] Caribbean oral poetry shares the vigour of the written tradition.[5]
Among the most prominent Caribbean poets whose works are widely studied (and translated into other languages) are: Derek Walcott (who won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature),[6][7] Kamau Brathwaite,[8] Edouard Glissant,[9] Giannina Braschi,[10][11] Lorna Goodison,[12] Aimé Fernand Césaire,[13] Linton Kwesi Johnson,[14][15] Kwame Dawes,[16] and Claudia Rankine.[17][18]
Common themes include: exile and return to the motherland;[19] the relationship of language to nation;[20] colonialism and postcolonialism; self-determination and liberty;[21] racial identity.[22][23]
- ^ Edward Baugh, "A History of Poetry", in Albert James Arnold, Julio Rodríguez-Luis, J. Michael Dash (eds), A History of Literature in the Caribbean, Vol 2: English- and Dutch-speaking countries, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 227-282.
- ^ Emilio Jorge Rodríguez, "Oral Tradition and New Literary Canon in Caribbean Poetry", in Albert James Arnold, Julio Rodríguez-Luis, J. Michael Dash (eds), A History of Literature in the Caribbean, Volume 3: Cross-Cultural Studies, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co., 1994, pp. 177-185.
- ^ Arturo Cattaneo, "Caribbean Verse: History of Literature As History in Literature". Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Christian Andrew Campbell, Romancing "the Folk": Rereading the Nation in Caribbean Poetics, Duke University dissertation, 2007.
- ^ a b Burnett, Paula (1986). The Penguin Book of Caribbean Verse in English. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-058511-7. OCLC 13857617.[page needed]
- ^ Poets, Academy of American. "Poems by Derek Walcott". poets.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Derek Walcott". Poetry Foundation. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Kamau Brathwaite". Poetry Foundation. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Britton, Celia (13 February 2011). "Edouard Glissant". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Giannina Braschi". PEN America. 9 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Giannina Braschi: 2012 National Book Festival". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Lorna Goodison". Poetry Foundation. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Aimé Fernand Césaire". Poetry Foundation. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Maya Jaggi, "Profile: Linton Kwesi Johnson - Poet on the front line" Archived 2016-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 4 May 2002.
- ^ "Linton Kwesi Johnson - Literature". literature.britishcouncil.org. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Kwame Dawes". Poetry Foundation. 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Claudia Rankine | Biography, Poetry, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Muhammad, Ismail (4 September 2020). "Claudia Rankine's Quest for Racial Dialogue". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ D’haen, Theo (2009). "Exile, Caribbean Literature, and the World Republic of Letters". Perspectives on the 'Other America'. pp. 219–231. doi:10.1163/9789042027053_013. ISBN 978-90-420-2704-6.
- ^ Belisle, Natalie L. (2017). Strangers at Home: Opaque Citizenships in Contemporary Caribbean Literature (Thesis).
- ^ "CFPs – The Caribbean Commons". Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "caribbean literature themes - Google Search". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Burge, Peggy. "LibGuides: Caribbean Writer Series: Caribbean Literature". research.pugetsound.edu. Retrieved 6 September 2020.