Vincentian literature in the era of independence 1940-1980

This thesis provides an original mapping of literature written by authors associated with the island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. To date, there has been minimal systematic research dedicated to the nation’s literary output. This thesis plugs that gap and highlights the work of little-known authors from the islands, establishing a history of Vincentian literature from 1940-1980. It offers a critical examination of the idea of a Vincentian literary tradition and its place within wider cultural contexts. The topic was investigated by excavating key literary archives: the BBC Archives of Caribbean Voices; the Henry Swanzy files at the University of Birmingham; the George Padmore Institute; Eric and Jessica Huntley’s Papers, London Metropolitan Archives and National Archives St Vincent and the Grenadines for the production of writing from locally produced little magazines.

Using archival theory, Chapters One and Two address ideas of archival absence and presence in relation to the global literary marketplace and outline the compromised dynamics surrounding the marketability and preservation of texts. I then examine the island’s first published novel in Chapter Three so as to analyse the role of women during the era of independence and to demonstrate how the use of Creole in Vincentian literature proves vital to establishing national identity. A case is made that Vincentian literature during the period under discussion becomes increasingly political in reflection of a burgeoning national consciousness. Chapter Four draws attention to the effects of the Black Power Movement and radical Marxist Black Politics on Vincentian writers, while emphasising the significance of youth voices to political debates in the lead up to Vincentian independence. There is a marked difference, this thesis argues, between Vincentian literature and movements of the 1970s when compared with those that took place in the region during the prior decade. Finally, Chapter Five provides a case study and literary reading of the islands’ foremost female poet. It shows how material conditions, alongside gendered expectations driven by colonially inflected respectability politics, continued to impact upon Caribbean women’s right to write.