Jamaican literature

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.

Folk beginnings 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.Rebecca Tortello, "Pieces of the Past: The Arrival Of The Africans". A Jamaica Gleaner Feature, 3 February 2004. 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 in his stories he often goes against other animal-god characters, like Tiger and Donkey. These tales are thought to be one way the slaves told about outsmarting their owners as well.

Development of the literature 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,"Michael Hughes, A Companion to West Indian Literature, Collins, 1979, p. 75. and his Becka's Buckra BabyBecka’s Buckra Baby is available openly and freely online from the Digital Library of the Caribbean. 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 well known for her poetry, as well as 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.Rowe, Marcia (2014), "Poet Laureate Morris Honoured At King's House", Jamaica Gleaner, 24 May 2014. He was succeeded in 2017 by Lorna Goodison.Richard Johnson, "Goodison is poet laureate" , Jamaica Observer, 20 March 2017.

Notable Jamaican writers

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 Nicole Dennis-Benn, novelist 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, playwright, screenwriter, 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, novelist, short story writer, essayist 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 Leopold Anthony Richards, scholar, educator, author 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"Kerry Young", Literature British Council.

Jamaican literature

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