Ancestors

by Edward Kamau Brathwaite

Offers a revised edition of Brathwaite's Mother Poem, Sun Poem, and X/Self poems which explore the author's family and childhood in Barbados and his experiences with slavery and colonialism.

Genres: Poetry

544 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2001

About the author

Edward Kamau Brathwaite is widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon. A professor of Comparative Literature at New York University, Brathwaite is the 2006 International Winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize, for his volume of poetry Born to Slow Horses.

Brathwaite held a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex (1968) and was the co-founder of the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM). He received both the Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships in 1983, and was a winner of the 1994 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Bussa Award, the Casa de las Américas Prize for poetry, and the 1999 Charity Randall Citation for Performance and Written Poetry from the International Poetry Forum.

Brathwaite is noted for his studies of Black cultural life both in Africa and throughout the African diasporas of the world in works such as Folk Culture of the Slaves in Jamaica (1970); The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica, 1770 - 1820 (1971); Contradictory Omens (1974); Afternoon of the Status Crow (1982); and History of the Voice (1984), the publication of which established him as the authority of note on nation language.

Reviews

[Gina-Anne]

She and the mango tree went during Hurricane Gilbert.

[in8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://5cense.com/23/1105.htm

[Dave Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I often find myself struggling through rough translation of obscure novels and poetry. But I found myself with an all new challenge with "Ancestors" as much is written in Bajan, a Barbadian dialect comprised of English and numerous African languages. Brathwaite set out to create a unique meter which in turn inspired a fascinating writing style which he says is indicative of the unique geography of Barbados and its adjacent island nations. "Ancestors" is a trilogy of Brathwaite's life work stitched together into a 468 page epic. As it is poetry I thought I would breeze through but as I thought to understand I found myself lingering a little longer over passages requiring multiple reads. Perhaps, like a visitor to the island itself, I chose to linger a little not sure of I will return so bent on taking it all in while I'm here. Brathwaite is a vital contributor to Caribbean literature and must reading if you wish to fully comprehend the uniqueness and character of each island.

[Rashidabumbray · Rating 3 out of 5]

kamau always takes us through catastrophe into oumfo/womb. this is opening doors to re-reads of things i thought i already knew, like "beloved".