Author: Anthony Bogues
publisher name: Ian Randle Publishers, Jamaica
ISBN: 9789766375157
George Lamming is one of the best-known and 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 part of the group of Caribbean activists who awakened the Caribbean to its identity, particularly its cultural identity, his works have focused on finding new political and social identity. Lamming was a seminal figure in the Caribbean 20th-century intellectual tradition and radical anti-colonial tradition.
Lamming is best known for his novels, including "In the Castle of My Skin" and "The Emigrants," which 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 an 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 collection 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 that continue to shape and influence Caribbean identity in our contemporary world.
