Caribbean Writers and Their Art: History, the Caribbean and the Imagination (1991)

Edward Baugh of the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, introduces the series "Caribbean Writers and Their Art." He introduces Barbadian poet-historian Kamau Brathwaite, who explains his role as co-director of the first Caribbean Writer's Summer Institute in 1991. The pair discuss Miami, Florida, as a Caribbean space, the Caribbean region and its history, colonialism, and Caribbean literature. Brathwaite gives an oral biography, a short narrative of his literary career, including colonial versus indigenous influences (such as John Keats) on his writing, and the impact of rhythms on language. Brathwaite closes with a few poems -- "Calypso," Jazz Poems, "Atumpan" -- and discusses his visit to Ghana.