Winner of the Griffin International Poetry Prize (2006).
Kamau Brathwaite Books
Edward Kamau Brathwaite is recognized as a foundational voice within the Caribbean literary canon. His works delve deeply into Black cultural life, tracing its manifestations across Africa and throughout the global diaspora. Brathwaite is particularly noted for his exploration of 'nation language,' which he champions as essential to cultural identity and expression. His distinctive poetic style and incisive literary analysis have significantly shaped the landscape of Caribbean literature.
Deeply felt requiems from an internationally celebrated poet.
Words Need Love Too
- 132 pages
- 5 hours of reading
Exploring the concept of "dreamstories," this collection showcases Kamau Brathwaite's innovative approach to creating a new literary tradition from the diverse languages and rhythms of the New World. The poems reflect a deep connection to ancestry and the transformative power of love, inviting readers to engage in the shaping of a new reality and destiny. Brathwaite's unique voice makes readers active participants in a celebratory exploration of language and culture, emphasizing the profound relationship between words and identity.
The People Who Came Book 3
- 144 pages
- 6 hours of reading
An established and popular three-book history course for lower forms in Caribbean schools. - Test knowledge and stimulate further enquiry and thought with a wide range of questions and activities.
"In its title, Strange Fruit refers to the song of a lynching made famous by Billie Holiday and to the malign persecution that drove Kamau Brathwaite from his New York home to resettlement in his native Barbados. But the title also points to the enigma of beauty created out of that experience of cultural lynching, in poems of urgency, elegance, wisdom and brave humour. ... It is a collection full of beauties of form, phrase and sound, such as in the poem “Sleep Widow” where instead of finding comfort, the poet and loved woman “bull-fight like lock-horm logga-head until the evening pools the grief along our edges/ and cools us to this peace”, the very sounds in the poem fighting their way towards resolution."--Back cover.
A mystical masterwork about the afterlife by the great Barbadian poet at the end of his career.