Samuel Selvon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Selvon in 1952 | |
| Born | Samuel Dickson Selvon (1923-05-20)20 May 1923 San Fernando,Trinidad and Tobago |
| Died | 16 April 1994(1994-04-16) (aged 70) Piarco International Airport,Piarco,Tunapuna–Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Pen name | Michael Wentworth; Esses; Ack-Ack; Big Buffer |
| Education | Naparima College |
| Notable works | The Lonely Londoners (1956) |
| Spouses | Draupadi Persaud Althea Daroux |
| Children | Two daughters and two sons |
Samuel Dickson Selvon (20 May 1923 – 16 April 1994)[1] was aTrinidad-born writer, who moved to London, England, in 1950.[2] His 1956 novelThe Lonely Londoners is groundbreaking in its use of creolised English, or "nation language", for narrative as well as dialogue.
Samuel Dickson Selvon was born inSan Fernando in the south of Trinidad, the sixth of seven children.[3] His father was a first-generationChristianTamilIndian immigrant fromMadras and his mother was aChristianAnglo-Indian. His maternal grandfather wasScottish and his maternal grandmother wasIndian.[4]
Selvon was educated atNaparima College, San Fernando, before leaving at the age of 15 to work. He was a wireless operator with the local branch of theRoyal Naval Reserve from 1940 to 1945 during theSecond World War. Thereafter, he moved north toPort of Spain, and from 1945 to 1950, worked for theTrinidad Guardian as a reporter and for a time on its literary page. In this period, he began writing stories and descriptive pieces, mostly under a variety of pseudonyms, including Michael Wentworth, Esses, Ack-Ack, and Big Buffer.[5] Much of this early writing is to be found inForeday Morning (edsKenneth Ramchand andSusheila Nasta, 1989).
In 1950, Selvon moved toLondon, England,[6] where he took menial jobs, eventually working as a clerk for the Indian Embassy, while writing in his spare time.[1] His short stories and poetry appeared in various publications, including theLondon Magazine,New Statesman, andThe Nation. In London, he also worked with theBBC, producing two television scripts,Anansi the Spiderman, andHome Sweet India.[7]
Selvon was a fellow in creative writing at theUniversity of Dundee from 1975 until 1977.[8] In the late 1970s, he moved toAlberta,Canada, and found a job teaching creative writing as a visiting professor at theUniversity of Victoria. When that job ended, he took a job as a janitor at theUniversity of Calgary in Alberta for a few months before becoming writer-in-residence there. He was largely ignored by the Canadian literary establishment, with his works receiving no reviews during his residency.
On a return trip to Trinidad, Selvon died ofrespiratory failure due to extensivebronchopneumonia and chroniclung disease on 16 April 1994 atPiarco International Airport; his ashes were subsequently interred at theUniversity of the West Indies cemetery,St Augustine, Trinidad.[3]
Selvon married twice: in 1947 to Draupadi Persaud, with whom he had one daughter, and in 1963 to Althea Daroux (deceased), with whom he had two sons and a daughter.
Selvon is best known for his novelsThe Lonely Londoners (1956) andMoses Ascending (1975). His novelA Brighter Sun (1952), detailing the construction of theChurchill-Roosevelt Highway in Trinidad through the eyes of young Indian worker Tiger, was a popular choice on theCXCEnglish Literaturesyllabus for many years. Other notable works include the collection of storiesWays of Sunlight (1957),Turn Again Tiger (1958) andThose Who Eat the Cascadura (1972). During the 1960s and 1970s, Selvon converted several of his novels and stories into radio scripts, broadcast by theBBC, which were collected inEldorado West One (Peepal Tree Press, 1988) andHighway in the Sun (Peepal Tree Press, 1991).
The Lonely Londoners, like most of Selvon's later work, focuses on the migration of West Indians to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and tells, mostly in anecdotal form, the daily experience of settlers from Africa and the Caribbean. Selvon also illustrates the panoply of different subcultures that exist within London, as with any major city, due to class and racial boundaries. In many ways, his books are the precursors to works such asWhite Teeth (2000) byZadie Smith andThe Buddha of Suburbia (1990) byHanif Kureishi.[9] Selvon explained:
"When I wrote the novel that becameThe Lonely Londoners, I tried to recapture a certain quality in West Indian everyday life. I had in store a number of wonderful anecdotes and could put them into focus, but I had difficulty starting the novel in straight English. The people I wanted to describe were entertaining people indeed, but I could not really move. At that stage, I had written the narrative in English and most of the dialogues in dialect. Then I started both narrative and dialogue in dialect and the novel just shot along."[10]
In the late 1980s, Selvon wrote personal essays reflecting on his West Indian identity. These include "Three into one can't go – East Indian, Trinidadian or West Indian?" (1986), in which Selvon reflects on the complexities of being of East Indian heritage, born and raised in Trinidad, and of West Indian identity.[11] He also wrote "Finding West Indian Identity in London" (1987), in which he reflects on developing a West Indian consciousness after immigrating to London in 1950.[12]
Selvon's papers are now at theHarry Ransom Humanities Research Center at theUniversity of Texas, Austin, USA. These consist ofholograph manuscripts, typescripts, book proofs, manuscript notebooks, and correspondence. Drafts for six of his 11 novels are present, along with supporting correspondence and items relating to his career.[13]
Selvon was awarded twoGuggenheim Fellowships (in 1955 and 1968),[14] an honorary doctorate fromWarwick University in 1989, and in 1985 the honorary degree of DLitt by the University of the West Indies.[3] In 1969 he was awarded the Trinidad & TobagoHummingbird Medal Gold for Literature, and in 1994 he was (posthumously) given another national award, theChaconia Medal Gold for Literature.[14] In 2012 he was honoured with aNALIS Lifetime Achievement Literary Award for his contributions to Trinidad and Tobago's literature.[14]
On what would have been his 95th birthday, 20 May 2018, Selvon was honoured with aGoogle Doodle.[15]
Critical works on Selvon include:
