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Like many Caribbean nations, Trinidad has felt the effects of globalization on its economy, politics, and expressive culture. Even Carnival, once a clandestine folk celebration, has been transformed into a major transnational festival. In Trinidad Carnival, Garth L. Green, Philip W. Scher, and an international group of scholars explore Carnival as a reflection of the nation and culture of Trinidad and Trinidadians worldwide. The nine essays cover topics such as women in Carnival, the politics and poetics of Carnival, Carnival and cultural memory, Carnival as a tourist enterprise, the steelband music of Carnival, Calypso music on the world stage, Carnival and rap, and Carnival as a global celebration. For readers interested in the history and current expression of Carnival, this volume offers a multidimensional and transnational view of Carnival as a representation of Trinidad and Caribbean culture everywhere.

Contributors are Robin Balliger, Shannon Dudley, Pamela R. Franco, Patricia A. de Freitas, Ray Funk, Garth L. Green, Donald R. Hill, Lyndon Phillip, Victoria Razak, and Philip W. Scher.

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Written at Derek Walcott's suggestion, and based on interviews with the playwright, this is the first detailed study of a post-colonial theatre company and the problems of creating "serious" theatre in the former British colonies. The book shows how the Nobel Prize winner strove to create a world class theatre ensemble in the West Indies--a Trinidadian Brecht Berliner ensemble--and traces his life and career in West Indian theatre and the history of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop. A major contribution to West Indian history and theatre, Bruce King's study reveals the heroic will of Derek Walcott, and his determination to prove that West Indian drama was a force with which to be reckoned. ... Read more

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V.S. Naipaul stands as the most lionized literary mediator between First and Third World experience and is ordinarily viewed as possessing a unique authority on the subject of cross-cultural relations in the post-colonial era.In contesting this orthodox reading of his work, Nixon argues that Naipaul is more than simply an unduly influential writer.He has become a regressive Western institution, articulating a set of values that perpetuates political interests and representational modes that have their origin in the high imperial age.Nixon uses Naipaul's travel writing to probe the core theoretical issues raised by cross-cultural representation along metropolitan-periphery lines.With reference to economic theories of dependency, he critiques the vision, popularized by Naipaul, of the post-colonial world as divided between mimic and parasitic Third World nations on the one hand and, on the other, the benignly creative societies of the West. ... Read more

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In this essay of literary autobiography, V.S. Naipaulsifts through memories of his childhood in Trinidad, his universitydays in Oxford, and his struggles as a young, poor and inexperiencedwriter in London.He describes his responses to his family's nativeIndia, particularly his horror at the poverty and misery that heencountered on his first visit.He modestly reflects on the differentpossibilities that he found in the novel and the travel book forcapturing the truth of his subjects and considers what makes a workpiece of literature.He offers us a remarkably vivid account of theexperiences and literature that shaped his imagination and allowed himto make his childhood fantasy of becoming a writer of fiction areality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The author as an enigma
I was introduced to V.S. Naipaul a number of years ago principally through his non-fiction. He is an elegant writer with unique perspective and insights. Although his unusual background is well-known to his audience, the first half of this spare book (64 pages) focuses on how his desire to become a writer ultimately developed substance. There are some wonderful passages about his father's habit of reading portions of books to his son that emphasized the particular qualities or character of the author. I found myself wanting to learn more about this relationship because it seems that it explains a good deal about Naipual's interests and his style.

The second portion of the book is a bit more disjointed. It opens with Naipaul speaking about the two Indias: the political India (of Ghandi and the freedom movement) and the personal India (of his grandparents)and how it has been represented in literature and how that representation misses the essence of the country. The final portion is an interesting analysis of the evolution of the novel and how Naipaul views it as a derivative form that is nearing the end of what it can do.

The first half of the boook was the most valuable to me as it added to my understanding of the writer and his craft and particularly about Naipaul as an artist. If you enjoy his work this should be of interest to you.

Random
I listened to Naipaul's nobel lecture, and found many of the things he touched on in that speech echoed in this short work. Naipaul speaks at length about growing up in Trinidad, and of the people he encounters. He speaks about his education. He also speaks about his father's short stories. Reading this book gives one a good sense of what led Naipaul to his first novels, as well as what led him to his later ones. The somewhat puzzling ending wraps up the writer's pessimism re: the future of the novel, which I found disingenuous. It's both unconvincing and the ultimate ingratitude to the form that won him the Nobel Prize.

Reding and Writing By V.S. Naipaul
`Reading and Writing ` by V. S. Naipaul ( Pub. New York Review Of Books,2000)A review by V. Ramsamooj Gosine.

In spite of its brevity, Readingand Writing ` by V.S.Naipaul is compulsive readingfor anyone who isinterested in the developmentof this writerand by extension otherwriters.

This short work of non-fiction ( 64 pages), examines critically the strands of historywhich have shaped and reshaped Naipaul's thoughtsand ideas. For example, Naipaul pays glowing tributeto his fatherwhomhe saw writing patiently andenthusiastically. Little Vidia listened tohis father read stories and this greatly influenced him . So much was Vidiainfluencedthat at age 11he had already decided that he wanted to becomea writer.It was a noble thing and he wanted to be part of it.The bookalso sifts through memories of his childhood, his days at Oxford,and hisearliest attempts at writing. We are all influenced by the landscape wegrew up in. It is an inescapable fact and Naipaul is now sharing thatexperience with his readers, atthe same time, he is looking at thematerial from a distance.

This reviewer would have preferred a longerworkin which Naipauldevelops his major concernson which hisimagination fed: the Ramlila of The Ramayan,his anthology of Literature,his father's love for bookswhich he got Naipaul interested in , Mr Worm,his primary school teacher, and the cinema. The basic themes are there andonly readers who are acquainted with the material could readily understandthe discussion. Those who have lived outside the colonial systemwouldhave certain problems.

Not surprisingly, Naipaulthinks that education ( in his days )produced only crammers , not real thinking men. This isthe sort of opinion Naipaul formswhen he analyses what he himself hasbeen through.

Even after Naipaul had written his earlier books and wasset on the road to becoming an established writer, he was still searching,examining and analysing everything around him , including definitions. Onegets the strong feeling that Naipaulis not the sort of writer who readilyacceptsthings easily. Evelyn Waugh defined fiction as ` experiencedtotally transformed `while Joseph Conrad ( a writer Naipaul admires ) sawthe novel as a `fabrication of events which properly speakingareaccidents only.'

Naipaul questions and draws his own conclusions. Inthis way, he does nothing impulsively and accepts nothing withoutreservation , but shapes and reshapes. In parts of `Reading and Writing'Naipaul shares his own attitude to new raw material.And this isdefinitely worth looking at.

In this autobiographical piece, subtitled "APersonal Account,'and written for the Charles Douglas Home Memorial Trust, the reader may have stumbled upon bits and piecesof information beforebut Naipaul painstakingly organizes his information l in such a way that each idea contributesand guides the reader along.

`Reading andWriting' could be read in one sittingbut truly , the work should be readslowly and meticulously. There is just so much to absorb and to consider ifone is really to comprehend the mind of a great, giftedwriter. Naipaul often presents different viewpoints , whichinvite the reader to weigh andconsiderjust as he didwhen the material first presenteditself to him.In this way, Naipaul admits the readerinto the curious laboratoryfromwhich he emerged.

In Part II, Naipaul continues a discussion - theimportance of the novel - which he has raised elsewhere. He focuses on thenoveland its usesin the later 19th centuryand now wonders whether thenovel has served its usefulness. Interestingly enough,he quotes longpassages from CharlesDickensand R.K.Narayanand makes pronouncementson their fiction and in all this, Naipaul the enquirer is still engaginghis mind in discussion. What`Reading and Writing' reveals more thananything else is that Naipaul, the artist, is always challenging his mindto get at the best.Serious writers , especially the young,should readclosely his conclusions.Naipaul is not unfair. His roving critical eyewould not permit himto write second rate pieces. It is the sort ofstandard he places on himself.

Naipaul thinks that,'Literature ,likeall living artis always on the move....No literary form , the Shakespeareplay, the essay, the work of history - can continue for a very long time at the same pitch of inspiration .' Harsh but realistic ! Is Naipaul thenon a quest for another form to carry out his work ? And is he attempting tocreate a new formto mirror the world ? He partly answers the question inthe new form he uses in his later travel books, (eg. India: A MillionMutinies Now ), but from all appearances ,he is still evolvingsomething.

`Reading and Writing ` opens up a new worldfor us toexamine. It isnot the world he createdbut it is colonial Trinidad ,India and Motherland , England. This is certainly not a text to be rushedthrough, short as it may be, but it certainly gives an insight intoNaipaul, the writer. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 7184 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Contains 8,000 to 12,000 word essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, and languages in addition to providing information on historical background and settlement patterns. Also covers ethnoreligious groups such as Jews, Chaldeans, and Amish. Each essay lists organizations and research centers; name, address, and contact information for periodicals, radio, and television stations; and a further readings section. ... Read more