A significant voice in contemporary literature, Jamaica Kincaid (born Elaine Potter Richardson in 1949) is widely praised for her works of short fiction, novels, and essays in which she
explores the tenuous relationship between mother and daughter as well as themes of anti-colonialism
.
What is Jamaica Kincaid known for?
Jamaica Kincaid, original name Elaine Potter Richardson, (born May 25, 1949, St. John's, Antigua),
Caribbean American writer whose essays, stories, and novels
are evocative portrayals of family relationships and her native Antigua.
What are some of the main themes that Kincaid writes about in her work?
Kincaid's writing explores such themes as
colonialism and colonial legacy, postcolonialism and neo-colonialism, gender and sexuality
, renaming, mother-daughter relationships, British and American imperialism, colonial education, writing, racism, class, power, and adolescence.
What is Jamaica Kincaid writing style?
Written in
a deceptively simple and unadorned style
, Kincaid's books are informed by her status of uprooted subject, born in the Caribbean island of Antigua, but living in North America. Thanks to her condition, Kincaid critically examines her Antiguan past with its colonial legacy, and her American present.
What is Jamaica Kincaid's culture?
Jamaica Kincaid is a
Jewish Afro-Caribbean author
, born in Antigua while it was still under British colonial rule. Her given name was Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson. For economic reasons, her family sent her at the age of sixteen to work as an au pair in the United States, where she has resided ever since.
Is Jamaica Kincaid queer?
As one of the few critics to actually
queer-
read Kincaid, Keja Valens explicates Kincaid's first novel Annie John as a narrative of desire between Antiguan schoolgirls who sex-educate themselves by experimenting on each other and mimic heterosexual relationships through cyclical friendships.
Why does Jamaica Kincaid write girls?
The rampant poverty shocked her so much that she felt compelled to write about it, describing the conditions in a nonfiction book called A Small Place (1988). She
disliked colonialism
but felt that Antiguans had squandered the opportunities that independence offered by relying too heavily on tourism.
Is Jamaica Kincaid a woman?
She was born Elaine Potter Richardson in 1949 in Antigua, and, in 1973, when she turned 24, she adopted her now-famous pseudonym. She chose “
Jamaica
Kincaid” because she wanted both greater anonymity as an author and increased visibility as a Caribbean woman, which “Jamaica” was meant to evoke.
Is Jamaica Kincaid a feminist?
As
a Black feminist
, Kincaid creates characters whose epistemologies reject the traditional dichotomies of Western philosophy, concentrating instead on the union of thought, knowledge, and activism.
What is the structure of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid?
The structure of Girl is unique in that it is continuous. The entire
story is comprised of one sentence peppered with numerous semicolons
. A voluminous list of “dos” and “do nots” is all that this story really is.
What is the tone of Girl by Jamaica Kincaid?
The tone of “Girl” is
loving, caring, but strict
. Jamaica uses literary devices to achieve the tone. She uses characters, setting, plot, point of view and style to establish a tone. Tone us pretty much an overall feeling of the story.
What is the main idea of small place?
The effects of colonialism
serve as the major theme for A Small Place in which Kincaid expresses her anger both at the colonists and at the Antiguans for failing to fully achieve their independence.
Where does Jamaica Kincaid work?
Shortly after leaving her job in
Scarsdale
, Kincaid found work for an Upper East Side family in New York City. After this move, she left no forwarding address and was cut off from her family until her return to Antigua 20 years later.
