''Barabajan Poems, 1492–1992'' is a collection of various types of writing, authored by the

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

postcolonial author

Kamau Brathwaite The Honourable Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, D ...

and published by Savacou Publications in 1994. 17 pages. Free PDF download.Otto, Melanie
"Edward Brathwaite: Barabajan Poems"
''The Literary Encyclopedia''. Volume 4:. 22 May 2012. Anglophone Writing and Culture of Central America and the Caribbean. In this collection, readers experience a number of Brathwaite's overwhelming ordeals in his recent life, shared honestly and sincerely.Savory, Elaine
Wordsongs & Wordwounds / "Homecoming: Kamau Brathwaite's Barabajan Poems"
''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The stated goal of the magazine is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book review ...

''. 68.4, Autumn 1994, pp. 750–57. . It is not only autobiographical but also represents a community defined by a Caribbean culture in transition from colonialism to a modernized independent economic state within the "new world order". It is fictionally and spiritually a magic book, serving as a counterweight to

Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...

's books of magic in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play'' The Tempest'', and is a foil for the bygone landlords

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

(1992 was the

Columbus Quincentenary The Columbus Quincentenary (1992) was the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' 1492 arrival in America. Similar to Columbus Day, the annual celebration of Columbus' arrival, the quincentenary was viewed contentiously, as different cultures a ...

) and the fictional Prospero.

Sycorax the muse

In an attempt to give voice to unspoken indigenous cultures, Brathwaite's postcolonial poems outline the history of the Caribbean through

Sycorax Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Tempest'' (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban (character), Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the he ...

's eyes. Sycorax is presented as Brathwaite's

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, possessing him and his computer to give full voice to the history of the silenced, who in Brathwaite's philosophy are not only Caribbean natives, but any culture under-represented during the colonial period. According to Brathwaite, " at happened to Caliban in '' The Tempest'' was that his alliances were laughable, his alliances were fatal, his alliances were ridiculous. He chose the wrong people to make God." Brathwaite "considered Sycorax, Caliban's mother, 'a paradigm for all women of the Third World, who have not yet, despite all the effort, reached that trigger of visibility which is necessary for a whole society.'" Gowda, H. H. Anniah
"Creation in the Poetic Development of Kamau Brathwaite"
''Poetry Criticism'', edited by Janet Witalec, vol. 56, Gale, 2004. Gale Literature Resource Center. Retrieved 6 February 2020. Originally published in ''World Literature Today'', vol. 68, no. 4, Autumn 1994, pp. 691–696.

References

External links

Many works of Caribbean Literature
openly available through the

Digital Library of the Caribbean The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is an international digital library operated collaboratively by the contributing partners. Partners Current partners continue to grow on a regular basis and are listed on thdLOC Partner Page Partners in ...

Sycorax the muse

See also

References

External links

Further reading