Jamaica Kincaid is a
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
novelist, gardener, and
gardeningGardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
writerA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. She was born in the
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of St. John's on the
islandAn island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of
AntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
in the nation of
Antigua and BarbudaAntigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
. She lives with her family in
North BenningtonNorth Bennington is an incorporated village in the town of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,428 at the 2000 census....
,
VermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, during the summers and teaches at
Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
in
Claremont, CaliforniaClaremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its...
, during the academic year.
Writing career
Kincaid's short fiction has appeared in
The Paris Review and
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, where her novel
LucyLucy is a short novel or novella by Jamaica Kincaid. The story begins in medias res: the eponymous Lucy has come from the West Indies to the United States to be an au pair for a wealthy Caucasian family...
was originally serialized. Her first book,
At the Bottom of the River (1983), was nominated for the
PEN/Faulkner Award for FictionThe PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation brings the winner and runners-up to...
. She has received the
Lannan Literary Award for FictionThe Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional quality", according to the foundation...
, the
Prix Femina ÉtrangerThe Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse . The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women...
, the
Anisfield-Wolf Book AwardThe Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards are United States literary awards dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture...
, and the
Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest AwardLila Bell Wallace was a United States magazine publisher.Born as Lila Bell Acheson, her father was a Presbyterian minister who brought his family to the USA when she was a child, and she grew up in the Midwest...
.
Her novels are loosely autobiographical, though Kincaid has warned against interpreting their autobiographical elements too literally: "Everything I say is true, and everything I say is not true. You couldn't admit any of it to a court of law. It would not be good evidence." Her work often prioritizes "impressions and feelings over plot development" and often features conflict with both a strong maternal figure and
colonialColonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
and
neocolonialNeocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control...
influences.
Family
She has a son, Harold, and a daughter, Annie, with her ex-husband, the composer
Allen ShawnAllen Shawn is an American composer, pianist, educator, and author who lives in Vermont.-His music:Among Shawn's available recordings are several of chamber music, a collection of piano music, and his Piano Concerto performed by Ursula Oppens with the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the direction...
(son of
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
's longtime editor
William ShawnWilliam Shawn was an American magazine editor who edited The New Yorker from 1952 until 1987.-Education and Early Life:...
and brother of actor
Wallace ShawnWallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
).
Works
- Girl short story (June 26, 1978, appeared in The New Yorker then again in 1984 in At the Bottom of the River)
- At the Bottom of the River (1984)
- Annie John
Annie John, a novel written by Jamaica Kincaid in 1985, details the growth of a girl in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean. It covers issues as diverse as mother-daughter relationships, lesbianism, racism, clinical depression, education, and the struggle between medicine based on "scientific fact"...
(1985)
- A Small Place
A Small Place is a memoir published in 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid. The work is an indictment of the Antiguan government, the tourist industry and Antigua's British colonial legacy....
(1988)
- Annie, Gwen, Lilly, Pam, and Tulip (1989)
- Lucy
Lucy is a short novel or novella by Jamaica Kincaid. The story begins in medias res: the eponymous Lucy has come from the West Indies to the United States to be an au pair for a wealthy Caucasian family...
(1990)
- Biography of a Dress (1990)
- "On Seeing England for the First Time," essay (1991, published in Transition Magazine
Transition Magazine , founded by Rajat Neogy , a Ugandan of Indian ancestry, was published from 1961 to 1976 on the African continent and was revived in 1991 in the United States. Born in Africa and bred in the Diaspora, Transition is a unique forum for the freshest, most compelling, most curious...
)
- The Autobiography of My Mother (1995)
- My Brother (1997)
- My Favorite Plant: Writers and Gardeners on the Plants they Love (editor; 1998)
- My Garden (1999)
- Talk Stories (2001)
- My Garden (2001)
- Mr.Potter
Mr. Potter is a novel by Antiguan born writer Jamaica Kincaid. The book has twelve parts with no title and the author narrates how it is to be a girl that grew without having a father and how this fact reflected on her. Prose and poem are mixed in this memoir, so the genre is very difficult to...
(2002)
- Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalayas (2005)
- Figures in the Distance
- Life and Debt
Life and Debt is a 2001 American documentary film directed by Stephanie Black. It examines the economic and social situation in Jamaica, and specifically the impact thereon of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank's globalization policies...
Film (2001)
Other references
- Jamaica Kincaid: A Bibliography of Dissertations and Theses, ISBN 978-1-45367749-0.
External links