Earl Lovelace
Earl Lovelace | |
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Born | Earl Wilbert Lovelace 13 July 1935 Commonwealth Writers' Prize; OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature |
Earl Wilbert Lovelace (born 13 July 1935) is a
Lovelace's first novel, While Gods Are Falling, published in 1965, won the Trinidad and Tobago Independence literary competition sponsored by
Biography
Born in
He worked at the
In 1962 his first novel, While Gods Are Falling, won the Trinidad and Tobago Independence literary competition sponsored by
From 1966 to 1967, Lovelace studied at
He taught at Federal City College (now University of the District of Columbia), Washington, DC (1971–73), and from 1977 to 1987 he lectured in literature and creative writing at the University of the West Indies at St Augustine. Winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980, he spent the year as a visiting writer at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.[6]
He was appointed Writer-in-Residence in England by the
Lovelace was Trinidad and Tobago's artistic director for
He is a columnist for the
Lovelace is the subject of a 2014 documentary film by Funso Aiyejina entitled A Writer In His Place.[12][13]
In July 2015, to mark his 80th birthday, Lovelace was honoured by the NGC Bocas Lit Fest with celebrations in Tobago, including film screenings.[14]
He is the subject of a 2017 biography by Funso Aiyejina.[15][16]
The Earl Lovelace Short Fiction Award was established in 2022 by Nigerian writer and publisher Onyeka Nwelue, administered by Abibiman Publishing, "in honour of the most important writer from the Caribbean".[17][18]
Writing
At the same time as his writing has brought him international prestige and awards, "Lovelace has been valued by readers in his own country for his story-telling, for the vividness of his characters, for the ease and energy of his language, for his celebration of the creole or island-born culture, and for the way his writing makes people feel good about the selves they see in the mirror of his art."[5]
When Lovelace's first novel, While Gods Are Falling, was published in 1965, C. L. R. James hailed "a new type of writer, a new type of prose, a different type of work".[19]
In 1968, Lovelace published his second novel, The Schoolmaster, for which "he invented a language to represent the people of Kumaca, a remote Spanish Creole village of timbered hills, fertile valleys and clear cool rivers that comes breathtakingly alive in Lovelace’s descriptive prose. ... The Schoolmaster can be read as a celebration of the natural world and the attuned people in it; as a parable about the perils of transition from small island to modern nation; and most obviously as a satire about education in a colonial context."[5]
Lovelace's 1979 novel, The Dragon Can't Dance, has been described as "a defining and luminously sensitive portrait of postcolonial island life. ...A poignant, beautifully crafted tale about a man and his country on the cusp of change."[20] Considered his best-known work, The Dragon Can't Dance is "a wildly exuberant paean to Trinidad’s carnival traditions and the calypsonians who challenged British rule in the wake of the second world war."[21]
In 1982, Lovelace published the novel The Wine of Astonishment, which deals with the struggle of a Spiritual Baptist community, from the passing of the prohibition ordinance until the ban, the story "animated by a Creole narrative voice" as in other work by Lovelace.[22]
Summing up his 1996 novel,
In 2011, Lovelace's Is Just a Movie was published by
Lovelace has also written plays (some collected in Jestina's Calypso and Other Plays, 1984), short stories (collected in A Brief Conversion and Other Stories, 1988), essays, and a children's book, as well as journalism.
Papers
The Alma Jordan Library at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, holds the Earl Lovelace manuscripts. The papers mainly consist of typed and handwritten notes, drafts and manuscripts of Lovelace's published output — novels, plays and short stories. Manuscripts of the following novels are included: The Schoolmaster; The Dragon Can't Dance; While Gods are Falling; The Wine of Astonishment; Salt. The collection also includes some unpublished work, including poetry.[27]
Family
His artist son Che Lovelace illustrated the jacket of the 1997 US edition of his novel Salt.[28] Earl Lovelace has collaborated with his filmmaker daughter Asha Lovelace on projects including writing the 2004 feature film Joebell and America,[29][30] based on his short story of the same title from A Brief Conversion,[31] on which his son Walt Lovelace was the director of photography and editor, and Che was the art director.[32]
Awards and recognition
- 1963, British Petroleum Independence Award, 1963, for While Gods Are Falling.
- 1966, Pegasus Literary Award, for outstanding contributions to the arts in Trinidad and Tobago.
- 1977, awards for best play and best music for Pierrot Ginnard.
- 1980, Guggenheim fellowship.
- 1985, Jestina's Calypso voted the most original play at the Trinidad & Tobago Drama Festival.
- 1986, National Endowment for the Humanities grant.
- 1988, Chaconia Medal (Gold) from the government of Trinidad & Tobago.
- 1997, Best Book, Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book), 1997, for Salt.[33]
- 1998, Shortlist, International Dublin Literary Award for Salt.[34]
- 2002, Honorary Doctorate of Letters from University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, 2002.
- 2011, Grand Prize for Caribbean Literature, from Regional Council of Guadeloupe, for Is Just a Movie.[35][36]
- 2012, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for Is Just a Movie (winner of Fiction category and overall winner).[37][38]
- 2012, Caribbean-Canadian Literary Award.[39][40]
- 2012, Lifetime Literary Award from the National Library and Information System (Nalis), Trinidad.[41]
- 2018, Presidents Award, St. Martin Book Fair.[42]
Selected works
Novels
- While Gods Are Falling, London: Regnery, 1966.
- The Schoolmaster, London: Collins, 1968.
- The Dragon Can't Dance, London: André Deutsch, 1979. Faber & Faber, 1998.
- ISBN 978-0-435-03340-8.
- Commonwealth Writers' Prize; International Dublin Literary Awardshortlist 1998), London: Faber & Faber, 1996; New York: Persea Books, 1997.
- Is Just a Movie (winner of 2012 ISBN 0-571-25567-1.
Short-story collection
- A Brief Conversion and Other Stories, Oxford: Heinemann, 1988.
Play collection
- Jestina's Calypso and Other Plays, Oxford: Heinemann, 1984.
Essay collection
- Growing in the Dark. Selected Essays (ed. Funso Aiyejina; San Juan, Trinidad: Lexicon Trinidad, 2003).
Plays and musicals
- The New Boss, 1962.
- My Name Is Village, produced in Port of Spain, Trinidad, at Queen's Hall, 1976.
- Pierrot Ginnard (musical drama), produced in Port of Spain, Trinidad, at Queen's Hall, 1977.
- Jestina's Calypso, produced in St Augustine, Trinidad, at the University of the West Indies, 1978.
- The Wine of Astonishment (adapted from his novel), performed in Port of Spain, Trinidad; Barbados, 1987.
- The New Hardware Store, produced at the University of the West Indies, 1980. Produced in London, England, by Talawa Theatre Company, at the Arts Theatre, 1987.
- The Dragon Can't Dance (adapted from his novel), produced in Port of Spain, Trinidad, at Queen's Hall, 1986. Published in Black Plays: 2, ed. Andre Tanker, 29 June – 4 August 1990.
- The Reign of Anancy, performed in Port of Spain, Trinidad, 1989.
- Joebell and America, produced in Lupinot Village, Trinidad, 1999.
Other
- Crawfie the Crapaud (for children), Longman, 1998.
- George and the Bicycle Pump (also known as Jorge y la bomba; 2000, film directed by Asha Lovelace, based on Earl Lovelace's short story in A Brief Conversion and Other Stories).[43]
- Joebell and America (film, co-written with and directed by Asha Lovelace; Trinidad: Caribbean Communications Network, premiered TV6, Trinidad, 2004).
See also
Further reading
- ISBN 978-976-640-627-1.
- Aiyejina, Funso (ed.), A Place in the World: Essays and Tributes in Honour of Earl Lovelace @ 70. University of the West Indies, Trinidad, 2008.
- Aiyejina, Funso. "Salt: A Complex Tapestry", Trinidad and Tobago Review 18.10–12 (1996): 13–16.
- Dalleo, Raphael. "Cultural Studies and the Commodified Public: Luis Rafael Sánchez's La guaracha del Macho Camacho and Earl Lovelace's The Dragon Can't Dance", Caribbean Literature and the Public Sphere: From the Plantation to the Postcolonial, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011.
- Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal, Vol. 4, Issue 2, Fall 2006.
- Raja, Masood Ashraf. "We Is All People: The Marginalized East-Indian and the Economy of Difference in Lovelace's The Dragon Can't Dance". Caribbean Studies. 34 (1): 111–130. 2006.
- Rogers, Elsa. "Proverbs and the African Oral tradition: An Examination of selected novels by Earl Lovelace." Caribbean Quarterly 45, no. 1 (1999): 95–100.
- ISBN 978-1-900039-91-8
- Thomas, H. Nigel. "From 'Freedom' to 'Liberation': An Interview with Earl Lovelace", World Literature Written in English, 31.1 (1991): 8–20.
References
- ^ "Earl Lovelace", Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ a b Bernardine Evaristo, "Is Just a Movie by Earl Lovelace – review. An incisive and witty portrait of Trinidadian society...", The Guardian (London), 29 January 2011.
- ^ Paul Lindo (20 November 2016). "Lovelace shows new works". Trinidad Guardian.
- ^ a b "Earl Lovelace", Best of Trinidad.
- ^ a b c d e Ken Ramchand (January–February 1999). "Trinidad's Earl Lovelace: Watching the Landscape of this Island". Caribbean Beat. No. 35. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Cultural Icons: Earl Lovelace" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism, Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
- ^ Peter Richards, "Carifesta Overcomes a Comedy of Errors", Inter Press Service, 11 October 2006.
- ^ "Carifesta IX in Trinidad", The Junction Blog, September 17, 2006.
- ^ "Some Poetry News – CARIFESTA", Scavella's Blogsphere, 7 October 2006.
- ^ "St. Lucia expected to participate in 4th Congress of Caribbean Writers in Guadeloupe" Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, St. Lucia News Online, 7 April 2015.
- ^ AirBourne, "4th edition of the Congress of Caribbean Writers, one of the most 'popular' editions ever!", Bajan Reporter, 28 April 2015.
- ^ Verdel Bishop, "A place for Lovelace", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 7 April 2014.
- ^ Katy Stickland, "Lovelace – 'A Writer in his Place'" Archived 30 December 2014 at archive.today, Tobago News, 12 October 2014.
- ^ Shereen Ali, "Bocas Lit Fest pays tribute to Earl Lovelace", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 3 July 2015.
- ISBN 978-976-640-627-1.
- ^ Glenville Ashby, "The Portrait Of An Icon" (review), The Gleaner (Jamaica), 17 February 2019.
- ^ "The Earl Lovelace Short Fiction Prize". Abibiman Publishing. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ Nehru Odeh (9 April 2022). "Short fiction prize in honour of Earl Lovelace debuts". PM News. Nigeria.
- ^ C. L. R. James, Journal of Commonwealth Literature, July 1969, no. 7, p. 79, quoted by Kenneth Ramchand, "Trinidad’s Earl Lovelace: Watching the Landscape of this Island", Caribbean Beat, Issue 35, January/ February 1999.
- ^ "The Dragon Can't Dance". Kirkus Reviews. 1 February 1998. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b Ian Thomson (26 March 2011). "Is Just a Movie". The Financial Times.
- ^ Helen Hayward (4 January 2019). "Those who leave". TLS.
- ^ "Salt". Publishers Weekly. 3 March 1997. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987–2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2007.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (22 March 1998). "Books: Long overdue". The Independent.
- ^ "The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature 2012", NGC Bocas Lit Fest, 2012.
- ^ "Earl Lovelace manuscripts SC64". uwispace.sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ Cover of US edition of Salt. Archived 4 February 2013 at archive.today
- ^ "Joebell And America", CaribbeanTales Worldwide. Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Gillian Moore (7 September 2010). "Reel Trini kicks off with Lovelace movie". Archives, Guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- Screen Daily, 26 September 2015.
- ^ Julien Neaves (10 March 2021). "Earl Lovelace's 'Joebell and America' is a Small Story about a Big Dreamer (Trinidad and Tobago)". RedMangoReviews.
- ^ Earl Lovelace biography, British Council, Literature.
- ^ 1998 Shortlist Archived 21 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
- ^ Lasana M. Sekou, "George Lamming awarded in Cuba; Derek Walcott wins in Trinidad; Earl Lovelace leads in Guadeloupe", Bahamas Weekly, 9 May 2011.
- ^ Maia Chung, "Earl Lovelace Pushes For Literary Unity", The Gleaner, 29 May 2011.
- ^ "Lovelace cops US$10,000 Bocas prize", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 27 April 2012.
- ^ "Lovelace savours Lit Fest victory" Archived 4 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Trinidad Express Newspapers, 29 April 2012.
- ^ "Writers honoured at Caribbean-Canadian Literary Awards" Archived 21 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Share, 1 November 2012.
- ^ Neil Armstrong, "Olive Senior And Earl Lovelace Honoured In Toronto", The Gleaner, 16 November 2012.
- ^ Zahra Gordon, "Lovelace: Better future lies in confronting present", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 17 November 2012.
- ^ "Earl Lovelace, Edwidge Danticat receive the Presidents Award from St. Martin Book Fair 2018", House of Nehesi Publishers, 12 June 2018.
- ^ Asha Lovelace, "George And The Bicycle Pump", Caribbean Tales, 2000.
External links
- Trinidadian Letters: Trinidadian Literary Culture at the Wayback Machine (archived 6 April 2003) (26 September 2001): Chezia B. Thompson, "Lovelace"; Brian Pastoor, "Poetry of Paradox in Earl Lovelace's The Dragon Can't Dance"; Funso Aiyejina, "An Intertextual Critical Approach to Salt by Earl Lovelace"; Edith Perez Sisto, Interview with Earl Lovelace.
- Kelly Hewson, "An Interview with Earl Lovelace, June 2003", Postcolonial Text, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2004).
- Nadia Indra Johnson, "Earl Lovelace: Selected Bibliography", Anthurium, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Fall 2006.
- "Earl Lovelace", British Council, Literature. Accessed 24 April 2022.
- The Strand on Is Just a Movie, BBC World Service, 4 January 2011.
- “We are on the verge of listening” - Earl Lovelace talks to B.C. Pires, Caribbean Review of Books, January 2011.
- Sophie Megan Harris, "An Interview with Earl Lovelace" (14 and 24 June 2011), SX Salon, Small Axe, 28 May 2012.
- Raquel Puig, "The Meandering Mind and the Film Image: Interview with Earl Lovelace", Sargasso: Celebrating Caribbean Voices 2010–2011, Special Issue.
- J. K. Fowler, "PEN 2013 Workshop: Earl Lovelace on Reclaiming Rebellion", The Mantle, 1 May 2013.
- Patricia J. Saunders, "The Meeting Place of Creole Culture: A Conversation with Earl Lovelace". Calabash: A Journal of Caribbean Arts and Letters, New York University.
- Anderson Tepper, "A Badjohn in Harlem: An Afternoon with Earl Lovelace", The Paris Review, 11 April 2012.