Caribbean Literature

I

Introduction

Caribbean Literature, written and oral literature of the Caribbean from before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century to the present. This literature emerged within a context of many languages and cultures. The languages of the Caribbean—French, English, Spanish, and Dutch—are remnants of the colonizing powers and their historical encounters with the region. Creoles and local patois (hybrid languages) developed from the mixture of European languages with Native American languages, especially Carib and Arawak, and the languages of Africans brought to the Caribbean as slaves. Asians, primarily from India and China, and Middle Easterners also contribute to the region’s cultural diversity.

The topics of Caribbean literature encompass the historical issues of enslavement and forced migration, the related themes of home and exile, and colonialism and decolonization. Caribbean literature also embraces the social and cultural themes of tradition, landscape, culture, and community, and addresses such universal questions as identity, sexuality, family life, pain, joy, and the uses of the imagination.

To limit Caribbean literature to writing produced in the Caribbean islands, however, is to exclude a large body of work. Caribbean literature also originated in the area of Central and South America that borders the Caribbean Sea: Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana; and coastal areas of Colombia, Nicaragua, Belize, and Honduras. Even some of the literature produced in the United States cities of Miami, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana, shares certain aspects of Caribbean culture. Also included in Caribbean literature are works written by people of Caribbean ancestry who live outside the Caribbean, primarily in Europe and major urban centers of the United States.

II

Oral Literature

The earliest form of Caribbean literature is oral literature, consisting of a rich folktale tradition, legends and myths, and songs and poetry. It flourishes today in popular music, such as the calypso, the Cuban son, and the Puerto Rican bomba; in storytelling customs derived from West Africa and India; and in supernatural tales from African religions, including Santería, Lucumi, Vodun, and Shango. Caribbean oral literature also thrives in proverbs, riddles, and sayings that reinterpret African, European, and East Indian traditions. Prominent among these are anancy (spider trickster) stories; animal dilemma tales, which typically teach a moral lesson; stories of village life or evil women; tall tales; and rhetorical flourishes, such as boasting, toasts, and speeches.

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III

Early Writings

During the period of European enslavement of Native American and African people, from the 16th century to the mid-19th century, the most prevalent Caribbean literary forms were autobiography and poetry. These works introduce themes that became common in Caribbean literature: exile, migration, displacement, and questions of identity. The most significant of these writings in the English language is The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself (1831).

Early Caribbean writings in Spanish include the poetry and autobiography of the slave Juan Francisco Manzano of Cuba in the 1820s and 1830s. José María Heredia is recognized as the first Cuban writer (1820) to produce anti-colonialist poems. Poesías (Poetry, 1838) and Poesías escogidas (Selected Poetry, 1842) were written by Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (known as Plácido), who was executed in 1844 for his alleged role in a slave uprising. Biografía de un cimarrón (1966; The Autobiography of a Runaway Slave, 1968), by Cuban anthropologist Miguel Barnet, is based on the narratives of Esteban Montejo, a 104-year-old former slave who recounted his life through interviews. Though published much later, this work is considered a traditional slave narrative. Max Henrique Ureña of the Dominican Republic wrote nationalist works in the 19th century. In the French-speaking Caribbean, novels first appeared in Haiti in the mid-19th century: Stella (1859), by Eméric Bergeaud; and Francesca, les jeux du sort (Francesca, The Game of Fate, 1873) and Le damné (The Damned, 1877) by Demesvar Delorme.

IV

20th-Century Writing

Few Caribbean countries gained their independence before the 20th century; for this reason, the development of distinct, national literary traditions began in the 20th century. Caribbean literature of the 20th century can be roughly divided into three periods: the first 30 years, during colonial rule; the years just prior to independence, from about 1940 to 1960 or later, depending on the country; and the period after independence.