Kamau Brathwaite

B.A. 1953, Cambridge; D.Phil. 1968, Sussex

Caribbean literature, culture, and society

Casa de las Americas Premio 2011; WEB DuBois Award 2010; Jose Lezama Lima Prize; Neustadt International Award for Literature; Casa de Las Americas prize Prize for poetry; Casa de las Americas Prize for Literary Criticism; Guggenheim Fellow; Fulbright Fellow; Ford Foundation Fellow; etc.

Since the early 1950’s, Kamau Brathwaite has been one of the leading producers of intellectual discourse on Caribbean literature and culture.  With poetic works such as the Arrivants (1973), a chronicle of the triangular slave trade, his place as a major contemporary poet and original literary voice of the Caribbean is well-established.  The richness of Professor Brathwaite’s verse is paralleled by the depth of his scholarly essays in literary criticism, cultural theory, and history.  In recognition of his many literary achievements, Professor Brathwaite has been awarded the  Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Casa de las Américas Premio, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Fulbright Fellowship.  Among his recent books are Ancestors, Magical Realism, Golokwati, Words Need Love Too, Ark: A 9/11 Continuation Poem,The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica 1770-1820, and Born to Slow Horses.

Rights of Passage. London: Oxford University Press. 1967.

The Arrivants: A New World Trilogy: Rights of Passage-Masks-Islands. London: Oxford University Press. 1973.

Our Ancestral Heritage: A Bibliography of the Roots of Culture in the English-speaking Caribbean. Mona: Savacou Publications. 1976.

Barbados Poetry: A Checklist: Slavery to the Present. Mona: Savacou Publications. 1979.

Jamaica Poetry: A Checklist: Slavery to the Present. Kingston: Jamaica Library Service. 1979.

Ancestors. New York: New Directions, 2001.

Magical Realism. Savacou North/Kamau Brathwaite, 2002.