Earl Lovelace

This article is about the novelist. For the peerage, see Earl of Lovelace.

Earl Lovelace (born 13 July 1935) is an award-winning Trinidadian novelist, journalist, playwright, and short story writer. He is particularly recognized for his descriptive, dramatic fiction on Trinidadian culture: "Using Trinidadian dialect patterns and standard English, he probes the paradoxes often inherent in social change as well as the clash between rural and urban cultures."[1] As Bernardine Evaristo notes, "Lovelace is unusual among celebrated Caribbean writers in that he has always lived in Trinidad. Most writers leave to find support for their literary endeavours elsewhere and this, arguably, shapes the literature, especially after long periods of exile. But Lovelace's fiction is deeply embedded in Trinidadian society and is written from the perspective of one whose ties to his homeland have never been broken."[2]

Biography

Born in Toco, Trinidad and Tobago, Earl Lovelace was sent to live with his grandparents in Tobago at a very young age, but rejoined his family in Toco when he was 11 years old. His family later moved to Belmont, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and then Morvant.[3] Lovelace attended Scarborough Methodist Primary School, Scarborough, Tobago (1940–47), Nelson Street Boys, R.C., Port of Spain (1948), and Ideal High School, Port of Spain (1948–53, where he sat the Cambridge School Certificate). He worked at the Trinidad Guardian as a proofreader from 1953 to 1954, and then for the Department of Forestry (1954–56) and the Ministry of Agriculture (1956–66).

He began writing while stationed in the village of Valencia as a forest ranger.[3] In 1962 his first novel, While Gods Are Falling, won the Trinidad and Tobago Independence literary competition sponsored by British Petroleum (BP).

From 1966 to 1967, Lovelace studied at Howard University, Washington, DC, and in 1974 he received an MA in English from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, where he was also Visiting Novelist. Winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1980, he spent the year as a visiting writer at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.[4] 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. He was appointed Writer-in-Residence in England by the London Arts Board (1995–96), a visiting lecturer in the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College, Massachusetts (1996–97), and was Distinguished Novelist in the Department of English at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington (1999–2004).

Lovelace was Trinidad and Tobago's artistic director for Carifesta, held in the country in 1992, 1995 and 2006.[5][6][7] He is a columnist for the Trinidad Express, and has contributed to a number of periodicals, including Voices, South, and Wasafiri. Based in Trinidad, while teaching and touring various countries, he was appointed to the Board of Governors of the University of Trinidad and Tobago in 2005, the year his 70th birthday was honoured with a conference and celebrations at the University of the West Indies. He is the president of the Association of Caribbean Writers.[8][9]

Lovelace is the subject of a 2014 documentary film by Funso Aiyejina entitled A Writer In His Place.[10][11]

Writing

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".[12] Lovelace went on to publish five further novels, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize-winning Salt (1996) and, most recently, Is Just a Movie, winner of the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. In 1986, he published the novel The Wine of Astonishment that deals with the strugggle of a Spiritual Baptist community, from the passing of the prohibition ordinance until the ban. [13]He has also written plays, short stories, essays, and a children's book.

Family

His artist son Che Lovelace illustrated the jacket of the 1997 US edition of his novel Salt.[14] Earl Lovelace collaborated with his filmmaker daughter Asha Lovelace on writing the film Joebell and America,[15] based on his short story of the same title.

Awards

Selected works

Novels

Short-story collection

Play collection

Essay collection

Plays and musicals

Other

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Earl Lovelace", Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  2. ↑ Bernardine Evaristo, "Is Just a Movie by Earl Lovelace – review. An incisive and witty portrait of Trinidadian society...", The Guardian (London), 29 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Earl Lovelace", Best of Trinidad.
  4. ↑ "Cultural Icons: Earl Lovelace", Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism, Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
  5. ↑ Peter Richards, "Carifesta Overcomes a Comedy of Errors", Inter Press Service, 11 October 2006.
  6. ↑ "Carifesta IX in Trinidad", The Junction Blog, September 17, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Some Poetry News – CARIFESTA", Scavella's Blogsphere.
  8. ↑ "St. Lucia expected to participate in 4th Congress of Caribbean Writers in Guadeloupe", St. Lucia News Online, 7 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "4th edition of the Congress of Caribbean Writers, one of the most 'popular' editions ever!", Bajan Reporter, 28 April 2015.
  10. ↑ Verdel Bishop, "A place for Lovelace", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 7 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Katy Stickland, "Lovelace – ‘A Writer in his Place’", Tobago News, 12 October 2014.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Lovelace, Earl (December 17th, 1986). The Wine of Astonishment. Oxford. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ↑ Cover of US edition of Salt.
  15. ↑ Joebell and America page at Caribbean Tales.
  16. ↑ Earl Lovelace biography, British Council, Literature.
  17. ↑ 1998 Shortlist, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
  18. ↑ Lasana M. Sekou, "George Lamming awarded in Cuba; Derek Walcott wins in Trinidad; Earl Lovelace leads in Guadeloupe", 'Bahamas Weekly, 9 May 2011.
  19. ↑ Maia Chung, "Earl Lovelace Pushes For Literary Unity", The Gleaner, 29 May 2011.
  20. ↑ "Lovelace cops US$10,000 Bocas prize", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 28 April 2012.
  21. ↑ "Lovelace savours Lit Fest victory", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 29 April 2012.
  22. ↑ "Writers honoured at Caribbean-Canadian Literary Awards", Share, 1 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Neil Armstrong, "Olive Senior And Earl Lovelace Honoured In Toronto", The Gleaner, 16 November 2012.
  24. ↑ Zahra Gordon, "Lovelace: Better future lies in confronting present", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 17 November 2012.
  25. ↑ Lovelace, Earl (1986). The Wine of Astonishment. Heinemann Educational Books.

External links

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