Wiki: Caribbean poetry - upcScavenger

Caribbean poetry is a vast and rapidly evolving field of poetry written by people from the Caribbean region and the diaspora.

Caribbean poetry generally refers to a myriad of poetic forms, spanning Epic poetry, lyrical verse, Prose poetry, dramatic poetry and oral poetry, composed in Caribbean territories regardless of language. It is most often, however, written in English, Spanish language, Spanglish, French language, Hindustani, Dutch language, or any number of Creole languages. Poetry in English from the former British West Indies has been referred to as Anglo-Caribbean poetry or West Indian poetry.

Since the mid-1970s, Caribbean poetry has gained increasing visibility with the publication in United Kingdom and North America of several anthologies.Edward Baugh, "A History of Poetry", in Albert James Arnold, Julio Rodríguez-Luis, J. Michael Dash (eds), A History of Literature in the Caribbean, Vol 2: English- and Dutch-speaking countries, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 227-282. Over the decades, the canon has shifted and expanded, drawing both on oral and literary traditions and including more women poets and politically charged works.Emilio Jorge Rodríguez, "Oral Tradition and New Literary Canon in Caribbean Poetry", in Albert James Arnold, Julio Rodríguez-Luis, J. Michael Dash (eds), A History of Literature in the Caribbean, Volume 3: Cross-Cultural Studies, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co., 1994, pp. 177-185.Arturo Cattaneo, "Caribbean Verse: History of Literature As History in Literature". Christian Andrew Campbell, Romancing "the Folk": Rereading the Nation in Caribbean Poetics, Duke University dissertation, 2007. Caribbean writers, performance poets, newspaper poets, singer-songwriters have created a popular art form, a poetry heard by audiences worldwide.

(1986). 9780140585117, Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140585117

Caribbean oral poetry shares the vigour of the written tradition.

Among the most prominent Caribbean poets whose works are widely studied (and translated into other languages) are: Derek Walcott (who won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature), Kamau Brathwaite, Edouard Glissant, Giannina Braschi, Lorna Goodison, Aimé Fernand Césaire, Linton Kwesi Johnson,Maya Jaggi, "Profile: Linton Kwesi Johnson - Poet on the front line" , The Guardian, 4 May 2002. Kwame Dawes, Claude McKay,and Claudia Rankine.

Common themes include: exile and return to the motherland;

(2025). 9789042027046 ISBN 9789042027046

the relationship of language to nation; colonialism and postcolonialism; self-determination and liberty; racial identity.

Caribbean epic poetry

Derek Walcott's Omeros (1990) is one of the most renowned epic poems of the 20th century and of the Caribbean.

(1997). 9780826211248, University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826211248

The work is divided into seven books containing sixty-four chapters. Most of the poem is composed in a three-line form that is reminiscent of the terza rima form that Dante used for The Divine Comedy. The work, referencing Homer and other characters from the Iliad, refers to Greek, Roman, and American slavery. The narrative arch of the epic takes place on the island of Saint Lucia, where Walcott was born and raised, but includes imaginings of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as travels to modern day Lisbon, London, Dublin, Toronto.

Giannina Braschi's Empire of Dreams (1988) is a postmodern Caribbean epic composed of six books of poetry that blend elements of eclogues, , lyrics, Prose poetry, and manifesto.

(2025). 9780822946182, University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 9780822946182

Braschi's United States of Banana (2011) is a geopolitical tragic-comedy about the fall of the American empire, the liberation of Puerto Rico, and the unification of the Caribbean isles. Blending elements of poetry, lyrical essay, and dramatic dialogues, this postmodern epic tackles the subjects of global debt, labour abuse, and environmental crises on the rise.

(2025). 9780814214107, Ohio State University Press. ISBN 9780814214107

Anthony Kellman created the Caribbean poetic form Tuk Verse, which incorporates melodic and rhythmic elements of Barbadian indigenous folk music called Tuk. His 2008 book Limestone: An Epic Poem of Barbados is the first published epic poem of Barbados. "Anthony Kellman" , Authors, Peepal Tree Press.

In 1977, the government of Jamaica named Claude McKay the national poet and posthumously awarded him the Order of Jamaica for his contribution to literature.

(2025). 9780820331812, University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820331812

Caribbean poets by country

Grouped by territory of birth or upbringing.

Anguilla