''Savacou: A Journal of the Caribbean Artists Movement'' was a journal of literature, new writing and ideas founded in 1970 as a small co-operative venture, led by
Edward 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 ...
, on the Mona campus of the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
History
Characterised as "groundbreaking" by
Alison Donnell
Alison Donnell is an academic, originally from the United Kingdom. She is Professor of Modern Literatures and Head of thSchool of Literature, Drama and Creative Writingat the University of East Anglia. She was previously Head of School of Literatu ...
, ''Savacou'' grew out of
The Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,Carib mythology who controlled thunder and strong winds. Issue 1 of ''Savacou'' was published in June 1970, edited by Brathwaite,
Kenneth Ramchand
Kenneth Ramchand (born 1939) is a Trinidad and Tobago academic and writer, who is widely respected as "arguably the most prominent living critic of Caribbean fiction". He has written extensively on many West Indian authors, including V. S. Naipau ...
and
Andrew Salkey
Andrew Salkey (30 January 1928 – 28 April 1995) was a Jamaican novelist, poet, children's books writer and journalist of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Panamanian origin. He was born in Panama but raised in Jamaica, moving to Britain in the 1952 to pu ...
. Its advisory committee included
John La Rose
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, Lloyd King,
Gordon Rohlehr
Gordon Rohlehr (20 February 1942 – 29 January 2023) ''
Orlando Patterson
Horace Orlando Patterson (born 5 June 1940) is a Jamaican historical and cultural sociologist known for his work regarding issues of race and slavery in the United States and Jamaica, as well as the sociology of development. He is the John Cowl ...
,
Sylvia Wynter
''The Honourable'' Sylvia Wynter, O.J. (Holguín, Cuba, 11 May 1928) is a Jamaican novelist, /sup> dramatist, /sup> critic, philosopher, and essayist. /sup> Her work combines insights from the natural sciences, the humanities, art, and anti-co ...
,
Paule Marshall
Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel '' Brown Girl, Brownstones''. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant.
Life and career
Marshall wa ...
and Wilfred Cartey, and among its early contributors were
C. L. R. James
Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, ''The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are in ...
Derek Walcott
Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem ''Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...
,
George Lamming
George William Lamming OCC (8 June 19274 June 2022) was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet. He first won critical acclaim for '' In the Castle of My Skin'', his 1953 debut novel. He also held academic posts, including as a distinguished ...
,
Martin Carter
Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...
and
John Figueroa
John Joseph Maria Figueroa (4 August 1920 – 5 March 1999) was a Jamaican poet and educator.Pamela Beshoff"Obituary: John Figueroa" ''The Independent'', 11 March 1999. He played a significant role in the development of Anglophone Caribbean lite ...
.
The journal was the subject of regional controversy in 1970, with the double issue 3/4, "New Writing 1970: An anthology of poetry and verse". Featuring oral-based poetics, performance poetry and Creole verse, the issue questioned traditional divisions between words and music, literature and street culture, textuality and orality, antagonizing standard literary formats and in turn provoking major debates and discussions in Caribbean literary circles.
Between 1970 and 1979, fifteen issues of ''Savacou'' were published. The journal ceased publication in 1980 with issue 15.
The name Savacou also appears as a publishing imprint.Michael Hughes, ''A Companion to West Indian Literature'', Collins, 1979, p. 115.
''This article uses text from th Chimurengal Library under the
GFDL
The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the r ...
''
See also
* ''
Bim
''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of Ca ...
''
* ''
Kyk-Over-Al
Fort Kyk-Over-Al was a Dutch fort in the colony of Essequibo, in what is now Guyana. It was constructed in 1616 at the intersection of the Essequibo, Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers. It once served as the centre for the Dutch administration of the cou ...