SOURCE: ABCNEWS
The modern Caribbean region, today, on the world map recalls the past legacy of indentured labours.
When George Lamming passed away last month, it brought to mind fellow Caribbean author V.S Naipaul and his depiction of emigrated indentured labourers in sugar plantations and neighbourhoods that were identified with the cheapness of labour.
The contemporaries of Lamming, like V.S Naipaul, Kamau Braithwaite and John Hearne had something in common; they shared their growth curve: writers who came of age when the British rule in their region was getting challenged.
Unlike Naipaul who settled in London, Lamming stayed in Barbados. According to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, “he epitomized voice and spirit that screamed Barbados and the Caribbean.”
Lamming became a moral and intellectual force, that sought a sovereign- a newly independent country eager to chronicle its own story.
One of the giants of post-colonial literature along with Hearne, he keenly addressed the past and held the drive in preserving the native culture. A sense of collective responsibility emerged in reconstructing the Caribbean reality while writing ‘ In the Castle of My Skin.’ The semi-autobiographical novel, drawing its title from an early poem by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, was published in 1953. It received acclaim for highlighting colonial supremacy and profit-making. In his other novels like, ‘ The Emigrants’ and ‘ Season of Adventure’, he essayed his time in England and his disillusionment with British culture. In other words, he found himself in England.
Particularly influenced by Shakespeare's The Tempest’, his novel ‘ Water with Berries’ is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s play. In Caliban, he saw the colonial voice waiting to be recognized and heard.
In 2008, Lamming was presented with the Order of Caribbean Community for his “ intellectual energy, constancy of vision, and an unswerving dedication to the ideals of freedom and sovereignty. “ His admirers ranged from Richard Wright, who wrote the introduction to the U.S edition of ‘ In the Castle of My Skin,’ to Sartre to Kenyan Thiong'o. Adding another feather to his cap was Anisfield-Wolf's lifetime achievement award, which he received for his "deeply political books that critique colonialism and neocolonialism.”
FURTHER READING:
1) LECTURE ON ' IN THE CASTLE OF MY SKIN' - https://youtu.be/HJUpjh1xyjA