Lindsay Barrett
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Carlton Lindsay Barrett (born 15 September 1941), also known as Eseoghene, is a
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 Hispa ...
n-born poet,
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...
, essayist,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, journalist and photographer, whose work has interacted with the Caribbean Artists Movement in the UK, the
Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...
in the US, and
pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...
in general. Leaving Jamaica in the early 1960s, he moved to Britain, where he freelanced as a broadcaster and journalist, also travelling and living elsewhere in Europe, before deciding to relocate to West Africa. Since the latter 1960s he has been based mainly in
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, of which country he became a citizen in the mid-1980s, while continuing his connection to cultural ventures in the UK and US. Barrett initially drew critical attention for his debut novel, ''
Song for Mumu ''Song for Mumu'' is the debut novel of Jamaican-born writer Lindsay Barrett. Written between April of 1962 and October of 1966 while the author lived in Frankfurt, Germany, Paris, and Accra, Ghana, it was published in 1967 in London, where Barrett ...
'', which on its London publication in 1967 was favourably noticed by such reviewers as Edward Baugh and Marina Maxwell (who respectively described it as "remarkable" and "significant"); more recently it has been commended for its "pervading passion, intensity, and energy", referred to as a classic, and features on "must-read" lists of Jamaican books. Particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, Barrett was a participant in significant drama and film projects in Britain, and became well known as an experimental and progressive essayist, his work being concerned with issues of black identity and dispossession, the
African Diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...
, and the survival of descendants of black Africans, now dispersed around the world."Barrett, Lindsay 1941–"
Encyclopedia.com.
One of his sons is the Nigerian writer A. Igoni Barrett, with whom he has also worked professionally.


Life in Jamaica

Lindsay Barrett was born in
Lucea, Jamaica Lucea is a coastal town in Jamaica and the capital of the parish of Hanover. History Hanover, Jamaica's second smallest parish was founded on 12 November 1723 with Lucea as the capital and main city. From the middle of the 18th century, ...
, into an agricultural family. His father, Lionel Barrett, was a lifelong farmer and senior
agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
with the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture; his great-uncle, A. P. Hanson, founded the Jamaica Agricultural Society in the early 1930s. Barrett attended Clarendon College in
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 Hispa ...
, and he has written that he was inspired to decide to live in Africa by a visit that pan-Africanist
Dudley Thompson Dudley Joseph Thompson, OJ, QC (19 January 1917 – 20 January 2012) was a Jamaican Pan-Africanist, politician and diplomat, who made a contribution to jurisprudence and politics in the Caribbean, Africa and elsewhere internationally. Early ...
paid to the school in 1957: "In that visit he spoke eloquently of the cultural links that existed between Africa, especially
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
, and Jamaica. He told us that the future held great potential for the restoration of our souls if we found ways to renew our links with the continent."Ben Asante
"Lindsay Barrett: An amazing story"
''This Day Live'', 20 September 2016.
After graduating from high school in 1959 Barrett worked as an apprentice journalist at the '' Daily Gleaner'' newspaper and for its sister afternoon tabloid, ''The Star''. In early 1961, he became a news editor for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation, where his mentor was the Jamaican journalist and political analyst John Maxwell.


Move to Europe: 1962–66

Less than a year later, Barrett moved to England, where he worked as a freelancer for the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...
in London and for the Transcription Centre,Herdeck, Donald E. (ed.), "Barrett, C. Lindsay (a.k.a. Eseoghene)", in ''Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia'', Three Continents Press, 1979, pp. 25–26. an organisation that recorded and broadcast the works of African writers in Europe and Africa. In 1962, Barrett went to France, and during the next four years travelled throughout Europe and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
as a journalist and feature writer. While in Paris, he was associated with many notable black poets and artists, including
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...
, Lebert "Sandy" Bethune,
Ted Joans Theodore Joans (July 4, 1928 – April 25, 2003) was an American jazz poet, surrealist, trumpeter, and painter, who from the 1960s spent periods of time travelling in Europe and Africa. His work stands at the intersection of several avant-garde ...
,
Beauford Delaney Beauford Delaney (December 30, 1901 – March 26, 1979) was an American modernist painter. He is remembered for his work with the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his later works in abstract expressionism following his mov ...
and Herb Gentry. In 1966 Barrett's book ''The State of Black Desire'' (three poems and three essays "focusing on the theme of black alienation, exile, and black art"),"'09: Nine are chosen..."
''NLNG - The Magazine'', 9 March 2010, p. 18.
illustrated by
St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis con ...
painter Larry Potter, was one of the first publications of the press of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company. Barrett's first novel, ''
Song for Mumu ''Song for Mumu'' is the debut novel of Jamaican-born writer Lindsay Barrett. Written between April of 1962 and October of 1966 while the author lived in Frankfurt, Germany, Paris, and Accra, Ghana, it was published in 1967 in London, where Barrett ...
'', was written between April 1962 and October 1966, and published in London by
Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
in 1967.


Migration to Africa: 1966 onwards

Barrett travelled to
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, in 1966 for the first World Festival of Black Arts, where – described by ''
Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illi ...
'' as "the fireball from Jamaica" – he organised a poetry-reading session at the US Cultural Center. After the Festival, Barrett decided to remain in
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
. He took up residence in Nigeria that year, and has said that he was urged to go there by the writer
John Pepper Clark John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (6 April 1935 – 13 October 2020) was a Nigerian poet and playwright, who also published as J. P. Clark and John Pepper Clark. Life Born in Kiagbodo, Nigeria, to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother, Clark received hi ...
, whom he had met in London in 1961, and whose play ''The Raft'' had influenced Barrett's own decision to begin writing plays, particularly one called ''Jump Kookoo Makka'' (which, like ''The Raft'', would be performed at the Leicester University Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1967).Anote Ajeluorou
interview with Lindsay Barrett
''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 17 October 2009.
He has said: "I came to Nigeria directly because I was influenced by her literature. I came to Africa because I wanted to renew the spirit of ancestral hope. I felt that there was hope in knowing where you came from and that we could renew our links, that we could strengthen our systems."Anote Ajeluorou
"Nigerian Literature At Odds With Her Poor Politics - Barrett"
(interview), ''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 2 April 2016.
From 1966 to 1967 Barrett was Secretary of the Mbari Artists Club, which was "a hub of literary and cultural activities" in
Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...
: "We were in a historic, literary setting," he recalled, "when the civil war broke out and disintegrated everything." He was Director of the East Central State Information Service during the
Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...
under Chief Ukpabi Asika.Ozolua Uhakheme, "My role in civil wars, by Lindsay Barrett"
''The Nation'', 28 August 2011.
After a further stay in London at the beginning of the 1970s, Barrett returned in 1973 to Nigeria, where he was a founding member of the Nigerian Association of Patriotic Writers and Artistes. He became a naturalised Nigerian citizen in the mid-1980s. He has worked as a lecturer and has taught at many educational establishments in West Africa, including in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
, at
Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...
in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, and at Nigeria's
University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...
, where he lectured on the roots of African and
Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
literature at the invitation of Professors
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
and the late Omafume Onoge. Barrett is also a broadcaster, particularly in Nigerian radio and television,Lindsay Barrett
"Remembering Nigerian radio drama's glorious past"
''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 9 January 2018.
and has produced and presented critically acclaimed programmes on jazz, the arts, and Caribbean-African issues. He has been involved with many cultural initiatives, interacting with a wide range of African diaspora artists visiting Nigeria, including
Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Coll ...
,
Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...
,"Jimmy Cliff planning sequel to The Harder They Come"
, ''
Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an ...
'', 24 November 2009.
Jayne Cortez, Melvin Edwards, and others. In London in the 1980s he was part of Penumbra Productions, an independent production company, with members including
Horace Ové Sir Horace Shango Ové (born 1936) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British filmmaker, photographer, painter and writer. One of the leading black independent filmmakers to emerge in Britain in the post-war period, Ové holds the ''Guinness World R ...
,
H. O. Nazareth H. O. "Naz" Nazareth (born 1944) is an Indian-born British film maker, writer, journalist and barrister. Resident in London, England, he was co-founder of the film production company Penumbra. Biography Born in Bombay, India, of Goan descent, H ...
,
Farrukh Dhondy Farrukh Dhondy (born 1944) is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist who resides in the United Kingdom. Education Dhondy was born in 1944 in Poona, India, where he attended The Bishop's School, and obta ...
,
Mustapha Matura Mustapha Matura (17 December 1939 – 29 October 2019) was a Trinidadian playwright living in London. Characterised by critic Michael Billington as "a pioneering black playwright who opened the doors for his successors", Matura was the first Br ...
,
Michael Abbensetts Michael John Abbensetts (8 June 1938 – 24 November 2016)Michelle Yaa Asantewa Way Wive Wordz, 25 November 2016. was a Guyana-born British writer who settled in England in the 1960s. He had been described as "the best Black playwright to emerge ...
and
Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Le ...
, among whose projects was a series of films based on lectures by C. L. R. James.


Writing

Summing up his writing career in an article on his 70th birthday, Barrett said: "I can remember a time in my early twenties when I lived in London, Frankfurt, Paris, and Tangier and, for a while in Tunisia and Libya, when I genuinely lived in a whirl of such oblivion that it appeared unlikely that I would ever witness my thirtieth birthday. For this reason I wrote at that time like one possessed and I still believe my work of that period represents the high points of my creative output. ... While the poetry and fiction that came later tends to be more cautious and formal than the fiction and poetry of my youth, in my journalistic output I seem to have become increasingly attached to formal reportage."


Novels

Barrett's first novel, ''Song for Mumu'' – "an allegorical novel of desire, love, and loss" – was published to acclaim in 1967 in London, where he took part in readings alongside writers associated with the Caribbean Artists Movement. The reviewer in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' said: "Lindsay Barrett's prose has vitality; it's usually simple, often demotic, packed with images. He can convey sensuality that is innocent and tragedy that is no less frightening for being unsought." A. R. Chisholm of the ''
Melbourne Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' described the novel as "violently, lyrically, movingly original: A primitive masterpiece." ''Song for Mumu'' was one of the first titles published in 1974 by executive editor Charles Harris at
Howard University Press Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...
in the US, where it was received favourably by critics such as Martin Levin of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', who commented that "What shines ... is its language." Reviewing the novel for '' Caribbean Quarterly'', Edward Baugh wrote of "the way in which it moves in worlds of magic and madness, myth and primitive ritual, not so as to exploit their strangeness, but to make them familiar, to emphasise their immediate reality, no less real than the reality of the natural and everyday. In his own distinctive way, Barrett is doing something not dissimilar to what, in their separate ways,
Wilson Harris Sir Theodore Wilson Harris (24 March 1921 – 8 March 2018) was a Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but subsequently became a novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and his sub ...
and the
Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...
Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...
have done". More recently, Al Creighton writing in the '' Stabroek News'' referred to ''Song for Mumu'' as an "intriguingly poetic experimental novel", in the context of seeing Barrett as a disciple of Nigerian writer
Gabriel Okara Gabriel Imomotimi Okara (24 April 1921 – 25 March 2019) was a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The first modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, he is best known for his early experimental ...
, "the virtual father of modern African literature in English". Barrett's second novel, ''Lipskybound'', was published in
Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...
, Nigeria, in 1977, and has influenced the work of many younger Nigerian writers who are interested in breaking the mould of traditional creative writing. As he himself described the work in 1972, having struggled for several years writing it: "It is an exposition of the heart of natural vengeance in the soul of the transplanted African and of the violent nature of the truth of his spirit out of necessity." Barrett's third published novel, ''Veils of Vengeance Falling'', appeared in 1985 and has been used as a set book in the Department of English at the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...
.


Plays and film scripts

From the 1960s onwards, Barrett authored many plays that were staged in England and in Nigeria. ''Jump Kookoo Makka'' was presented at the
Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...
Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1967 (directed by
Cosmo Pieterse Cosmo George Leipoldt Pieterse (born 1930 in Windhoek, Namibia) is a South African playwright, actor, poet, literary critic and anthologist. Education and career Cosmo Pieterse went to the University of Cape Town and taught in Cape Town until lea ...
) and that same year ''Home Again'' was performed by
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
's company. Over four nights in January 1973Eleanor Roberts
"Third Area A Feminist Reading of Performance at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts in the 1970s"
dissertation, Queen Mary, University of London (29 March 2016), p. 248; citing ''ICASM'' CA Bulletin January 1973, TGA 955/14, ICA Collection, Tate Archive, London.
Barrett's play ''Black Blast!'' – an exploration of Caribbean history through music, mime and dance – was performed in London, the first play by a Black writer at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
"Horace Ove – Filmography"
Caribbean360, 5 October 2007.
(with an all-Black cast, including
Yemi Ajibade Yemi Ajibade (28 July 1929''Africa Who's Who'', London: Africa Journal Ltd, for Africa Books, 1981, p. 82. – 24 January 2013), usually credited as Yemi Goodman Ajibade or Ade-Yemi Ajibade, was a Nigerian playwright, actor and director who, a ...
,
Yulisa Amadu Maddy Yulisa Amadu Pat Maddy (27 December 1936 – 16 March 2014)
, Leslie Palmer,
Eddie Tagoe Eddie Tagoe is a Ghanaian actor and reflexologist, probably best-known for his film career in the late 1970s and 1980s. Early life The son of Ghanaian Chieftain Asafoatshe Ayah Tagoe, Eddie Tagoe travelled to London to study reflexology prior ...
, Karene Wallace, Basil Wanzira, and Elvania Zirimu, directed by
Horace Ové Sir Horace Shango Ové (born 1936) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British filmmaker, photographer, painter and writer. One of the leading black independent filmmakers to emerge in Britain in the post-war period, Ové holds the ''Guinness World R ...
) and filmed for a special edition of the
BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's arts and entertainment programme ''Full House'' (broadcast on Saturday, 3 February 1973) devoted to the work of West Indian writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers. ''Black Blast!'' was described as "ritual theatre with music and dance" that "expresses in terms of raw bodily experience the history of the Black peoples of the world through colonization, slavery and the complexities of the neocolonialist era". Barrett's ''And After This We Heard of Fire'' was produced by the Ibadan Arts Theatre in Nigeria in 1971. In 1972 his theatrical collage of drama, dance and music, ''Sighs of a Slave Dream'', was the first major production to be staged at the
Keskidee Centre The Keskidee Centre, or Keskidee Arts Centre, was Britain's first arts centre for the black community, founded in 1971.Pat Amadu Maddy. It portrays the capture and enslavement of Africans, their transport across the Atlantic, and their suffering on American plantations. Various plays by Barrett have been performed at the Mbari Theatre of the University of Ibadan and on Nigerian National Radio. His work was also broadcast in the BBC's ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' radio programme. Barrett has occasionally written film scripts and commentaries, as for Horace Ové's 1973 BBC documentary ''King Carnival''.


Poetry

Barrett is in addition a poet, whose early militant poems dealt with racial and emotional conflict and exile, as evidenced in his collection, ''The Conflicting Eye'', published under the pseudonym "Eseoghene" (an Urhobo name meaning "God's gift") in 1973. That same year he produced a staged version of
Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His ...
's poem ''Voices of the Living and the Dead'' at London's Keskidee Centre, with music by the reggae group Rasta Love."The Keskidee – a community that discovered itself. Islington Local History Centre celebrates the Keskidee – Britain’s first arts centre for the black community"
, Islington Local History Centre, 2009.
Barrett's subsequent volumes of poetry are ''A Quality of Pain and Other Poems'' (1986) and ''A Memory of Rivers; Poems Out of the Niger Delta'' (2006), both books published in Nigeria.


As editor and contributor

Barrett's work has appeared in anthologies, including ''Black Fire: an Anthology of Afro-American Writing'', edited by LeRoi Jones (Imamu
Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...
) and
Larry Neal Larry Neal or Lawrence Neal (September 5, 1937 – January 6, 1981) was a scholar of African-American theatre. He is well known for his contributions to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He was a major influence in pushing for black ...
, and ''Black Arts: an Anthology of Black Creations'' in 1969. He wrote the foreword to a new edition of Amiri Baraka's ''Four Black Revolutionary Plays: Experimental Death Unit 1, A Black Mass, Great Goodness of Life, and Madheart'', published in 1997. Barrett has been an associate editor of several periodicals, including ''Afriscope'' (of which he was Associate Editor) in Nigeria, and ''
Transition Magazine ''Transition Magazine'' was established in 1961 by Rajat Neogy as ''Transition Magazine: An International Review''. It was published from 1961 to 1976 in various countries on the African continent, and since 1991 in the United States. In recent y ...
'' in
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, and he was a contributor to seminal black British publications in the 1960s such as ''Daylight'', ''Flamingo'', ''Frontline'' and '' West Indian World''. He has also contributed numerous short stories, poems, essays, and articles to journals that include ''
Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play '' Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Morae ...
'', ''
Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illi ...
/Black World'', ''Revolution'', ''Two Cities'', ''
New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...
'', ''Magnet'', ''
The Black Scholar ''The Black Scholar'' (''TBS''), the third-oldest journal of Black culture and political thought in the United States, was founded in 1969 near San Francisco, California, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is arguably the most in ...
'', ''Black Lines'', ''
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
'' magazine, and ''
The Africa Report ''The Africa Report'' is an English-language quarterly magazine that focuses on African politics and economics. History and profile Created in 2005 by Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 2 ...
''.


Journalism and non-fiction

As a journalist, Barrett has written on the conflicts and ongoing political circumstances in
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, and was the co-founder, with Tom Kamara, of the Liberian newspaper ''The New Democrat''. He was a correspondent throughout Africa for the London-based news magazine ''
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
'' for more than three decades, as well as working as a photo-journalist for a variety of publications. He has maintained weekly columns in several Nigerian newspapers over the years, including his widely read "From the Other Side" in the Nigerian tabloid '' The Sun (Nigeria), The Sun''. Barrett continues to work as a political analyst and commentator on Nigerian current events. According to Ozolua Uhakheme: "In all the civil wars in the West coast of Africa, he has played the role of an interpreter of the essence for peace." Barrett has regularly written on music, literature, film and other cultural and social issues. A long-time friend of
Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...
, he wrote a Prologue for the 2010
Cassava Republic Press Cassava Republic Press is a steering African book publishing company established in Nigeria in 2006 and headed by Bibi Bakare-Yusuf,
edition of the biography ''Fela: This Bitch of a Life'' by
Carlos Moore Carlos Whitman Moore (August 13, 1906 – July 2, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Moore had a listed weight of . Moore's playing career in the majors spanned one month. He made his major league debut with ...
. Among his other book contributions are literary interviews, such as one with
Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...
conducted in London in June 1981, included in ''Conversations with Chinua Achebe'' (ed. Bernth Lindfors, 1997). In 2016 Barrett published a collection of his reviews, entitled ''Rainbow Reviews and Other Literary Adventures''. Barrett has also written books of non-fiction and biographies. His articles appear regularly in Nigerian newspapers such as ''
Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...
'',Barrett, Lindsay
"M.D. Yusufu and Uche Chukwumerije: A surprising partnership"
''Vanguard'', 2 May 2015.
''
Daily Trust Media Trust is a privately held Nigerian newspaper publishing company based in Abuja that publishes the English-language ''Daily Trust'', ''Weekly Trust'', ''Sunday Trust'' and the Hausa-language ''Aminiya'' newspapers, as well as a new pan-Afric ...
'', ''
This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-in ...
'', and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', and he also does reports for television.


Visual art

In the earlier part of his career Barrett was also on occasion a visual artist, as evidenced by his 1970s painting "Spirit Night", included in the exhibition ''Beyond Borders: Bill Hutson & Friends'' at the Mechanical Hall Gallery.
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
(31 August – 9 December 2016).


Awards and accolades

* In 1970 Barrett's writing received the fifth Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Award from the
Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...
. * In 2004, writing about the depletion of the
Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The movement expanded from ...
, Amiri Baraka referenced Barrett with the words: "Can someone summon Lindsay Barrett who left Jamaica for Nigeria, who erupted with a scarlet beauty?" * In August 2009, Barrett's poetry collection ''A Memory of Rivers: Poems Out of the Niger Delta'' was one of nine books shortlisted for the $50,000 NLNG Prize in Nigeria. * Barrett has been named as one of "The 11 Best Jamaican Writers", alongside
Claude McKay Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay OJ (September 15, 1890See Wayne F. Cooper, ''Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner In The Harlem Renaissance (New York, Schocken, 1987) p. 377 n. 19. As Cooper's authoritative biography explains, McKay's family predated ...
,
Roger Mais Roger Mais (; 11 August 1905 – 21 June 1955) was a Jamaican journalist, novelist, poet, and playwright. He was born to a middle-class family in Kingston, Jamaica. By 1951, he had won ten first prizes in West Indian literary competitions.Ha ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Lorna Goodison Lorna Gaye Goodison CD (born 1 August 1947)Debo ...
, Kerry Young, Margaret Cezair-Thompson, Colin Channer,
Kei Miller Kei Miller (born 24 October 1978) is a Jamaican poet, fiction writer, essayist and blogger. He is also a professor of creative writing.Marlon James.Thomas Storey
"The 11 Best Jamaican Writers"
''The Culture Trip'', 14 January 2016.
* On the occasion of Barrett's 75th birthday, 15 September 2016, Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...
issued a statement commending Barrett for "his love for Nigeria, which inspired his relocation from the Caribbean to settle in the country, raise a family and also take up Nigerian citizenship in the 80s", adding that "the thematic thrusts of iswritings on Africa, Africans in Diaspora and Afro-Americans have contributed significantly to global discourse on the history and identity of the black race and the renewed interest in the future of Africa and people of African descent." * In April 2017 Barrett was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award "for excellence in creative writing" by the Institute of Arts and Culture at the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...
during the Gabriel Okara Literary Festival.


Selected bibliography


Creative writing

*''The State of Black Desire'' (three poems and three essays, illustrated by Larry Potter; Paris: Shakespeare and Co., 1966; reprinted Benin City, Nigeria: Ethiope, 1974). *''Song for Mumu'' (novel; London:
Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
, 1967; Washington, DC:
Howard University Press Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...
, 1974). *''The Conflicting Eye'' (poems, published under the pseudonym Eseoghene; London: Paul Breman, 1973). *''Lipskybound'' (novel; Enugu, Nigeria: Bladi House, 1977). *''Veils of Vengeance Falling'' (novel; Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension, 1985, ) *''A Quality of Pain and Other Poems'' (poems; Nigeria: Gaskiya Corporation, 1986, ). *''A Memory of Rivers; Poems Out of the Niger Delta'' (poems; Nigeria: Daylight, 2006, ). *''Visiting Eternity'' (poems, 2016). *''Rainbow Reviews and Other Literary Adventures'' (collected reviews, 2016).


As playwright and scriptwriter

* 1967: ''Jump Kookoo Makka'',
Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...
Commonwealth Arts Festival * 1971: ''And After This We Heard of Fire'', Ibadan Arts Theatre, Nigeria * 1972: ''Sighs of a Slave Dream'', Keskidee Centre, London, directed by Pat Amadu Maddy * 1973: ''Black Blast!'', ICA, London * 1974: ''Late Flood'', ''Thirty Minute Theatre'', BBC Radio 4''Thirty-Minute Theatre''
BBC Radio 4, 27 March 1974.


Non-fiction

*'' Danjuma, the Making of a General'' (biography; Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension, 1979). *''Agbada to Khaki: Reporting a Change of Government in Nigeria'' (non-fiction, Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension, 1985). *''Liberian Notes: A Study of Conflict and Resistance: A PACs Report'', Yandia Printing Press, 1993. *With Babatunde Faniyan, ''Wind of Hope: The Authorised Biography of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan'' (Onyoma Research Publications, Nigeria, 2010, )


Book contributions

* "The Tide Inside It Rages", in Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal (eds), ''Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro-American Writing'' (1968), Black Classic Press, 2007, . * "Giving Writers a Voice: an interview with Chinua Achebe", ''West Africa'', 22 June 1981, 1405–07. Reprinted in ''Conversations with Chinua Achebe'' (ed. Bernth Lindfors), University of Mississippi, 1997. * Foreword to Amiri Baraka, ''Four Black Revolutionary Plays: Experimental Death Unit 1, A Black Mass, Great Goodness of Life, Madheart'', Marion Boyars, 1997, . * Prologue to
Carlos Moore Carlos Whitman Moore (August 13, 1906 – July 2, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Moore had a listed weight of . Moore's playing career in the majors spanned one month. He made his major league debut with ...
, ''Fela: This Bitch of a Life'',
Cassava Republic Press Cassava Republic Press is a steering African book publishing company established in Nigeria in 2006 and headed by Bibi Bakare-Yusuf,
edition, 2010, .


Further reading

*
Baugh, Edward, "Song For Mumu" (review) in '' Caribbean Quarterly'', col. 13, no. 4 (December 1967), pp. 53–54. * Brathwaite, Edward, "West Indian Prose Fiction in the Sixties" in ''
Black World Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
'', vol. 20, no. 11 (1971), pp. 14–29. Also in ''
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 ...
'' and ''The Critical Survey''. *Edwards, Norval "Nadi", "Lindsay Barrett (1941– )", in
Daryl Cumber Dance Daryl Cumber Dance (born January 17, 1938) is an American academic best known for her work on black folklore. Biography Daryl Veronica Cumber was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Allen and Veronica Bell Cumber. She attended Ruthville High School in ...
(ed.), ''Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook'', New York:
Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 1986, pp. 26–34. * Herdeck, Donald E. (ed.), "Barrett, C. Lindsay (a.k.a. Eseoghene)", in ''Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia'', Washington: Three Continents Press, 1979, pp. 25–26. *Royster, Philip M.
"The Narrative Line Of ''Song For Mumu''"
''Obsidian: Black Literature in Review'', Vol. 8, No. 2/3 (Summer/Winter 1982), pp. 57–70. *Royster, Philip M., "The Curse of Capitalism in the Caribbean: Purpose and Theme in Lindsay Barrett's ''Song for Mumu''", ''Obsidian II: Black Literature in Review'' 2.2, 1987, pp. 3–22; reprinted in Harry B. Shaw (ed.)
''Perspectives of Black Popular Culture''
Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1990, pp. 22–35.


See also

*
Barrett family of Jamaica Some members of the Barrett (surname), Barrett family played an important role in the history of Jamaica. Hercie Barrett and family members migrated from England, landing on the island of Jamaica in 1655. In the years that followed, several famil ...


References


External links

* Margaret Alic
"Barrett, Lindsay 1941– – Journalist, poet, novelist, playwright"
Encyclopedia.com. * Ozolua Uhakheme

''The Nation'', 28 August 2011. * Anote Ajeluorou
interview with Lindsay Barrett
''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 17 October 2009. * Anote Ajeluorou

(interview), ''The Guardian'' (Nigeria), 2 April 2016. * Ben Asante
"Lindsay Barrett: An amazing story"
''This Day Live'', 20 September 2016.
Lindsay Barrett articles
at ''The N Report''.
"Leading light in Nigerian journalism - Sam Amuka+ Segun Osoba + Patrick Dele Cole + Lindsay Barrett"
''Arise News'', 16 September 2020.
"The Extraordinary Life of Poet, Author & Journalist, Lindsay Barrett - The ARISE Interview"
with Charles Aniagolu. ''Arise News'', 9 July 2021. * Donu Kogbara
"Legendary Lindsay@80"
''
Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...
'' (Nigeria), 22 October 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Lindsay 1941 births Living people People from Hanover Parish Jamaican television journalists 20th-century Jamaican novelists 21st-century Jamaican novelists Jamaican male novelists Jamaican dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Jamaican poets Jamaican male poets Nigerian television journalists Radio reporters and correspondents Nigerian people of Jamaican descent 20th-century Nigerian novelists Jamaican emigrants to Nigeria Jamaican photographers Jamaican journalists Male journalists Male non-fiction writers People of the Nigerian Civil War Jamaican people of Nigerian descent 21st-century Nigerian novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Jamaican poets Naturalized citizens of Nigeria 20th-century essayists 21st-century essayists 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers 20th-century journalists 21st-century journalists 21st-century Nigerian poets