91 research outputs found
Identity and dislocation in Caribbean women's literature: a study of the writings of Velma Pollard
No full textJamaican-born Velma Pollard has been publishing poetry and short stories for nearly
thirty years. Her first poems appeared in the 1970s, her first volume of short stories in
1989, and her first novel in 1994. Despite this considerable literary output, in the evergrowing
critical literature on Caribbean women's writing Pollard's work has not attracted
any of the scholarly treatment accorded to other writers. Given this lack of critical
attention to Pollard's considerable body of work, this thesis aims to provide the first
detailed and contextualised study of her writings (excluding the majority of her poetry
and of her writings on linguistics), and to accord Pollard the recognition her work
deserves.
Chapter 1 of this thesis situates Pollard's writings in the context of Caribbean
(women's) literature, and writings on identity, dislocations and (Caribbean) migration. I
argue that Pollard's principal contribution to Caribbean literature is found in her
engagement with two main subjects, return migration and relationships (male-female and
female-female), within a wider context of debates on identity and dislocation.
Chapter 2 introduces Pollard's work by way of a general discussion of her novella
Karl, which won the Casa de las Americas literary award in 1992. I consider Karl to be
central to Pollard's work, not least because it features many of the themes explored by
her later writings, including her novel, Homestretch, which is the subject of Chapter 3.
Pollard's first novel, Homestretch, which was published in 1994, explores the themes
of identity and dislocation through the experiences of 'return migrants' and 'repeat
migrants' and their comparison of life in England, the United States and Jamaica. The
novel chronicles how these migrants come to reconnect with and accept their cultural
heritage.
In chapters 4 and 5 I discuss selected stories taken from Pollard's two collections
of short stories, Considering Woman ('Cages', 'My Sisters', 'My Mother', and 'Gran') and
from Karl and Other Stories ('A Night's Tale', 'Miss Chandra', 'Betsy Hyde', and 'Altamont
Jones'). In these stories Pollard explores male-female relationships and the lives of
several generations and a wide range of Caribbean women and men. Pollard utilises the
West Indian setting, speech, situations and conflicts in these stories to graphically
describe familiar Caribbean role models and to provide a narrative and literary
examination of the frustrations and conflicting desires of women in the region.
In my conclusion, I address the ethnographic quality and significance of her work,
and its contribution to an understanding of the Caribbean
In Conversation with Velma Pollard
No full textIn Conversation with Velma Pollard(Spring 2018)by Simona Bertacc
Velma Pollard Interview, 9/23/2004
No full textDaryl Cumber Dance interviews Velma Pollard, camera stays on Pollardhttps://commons.lib.jmu.edu/ffpc-2004/1009/thumbnail.jp
A Conversation with Velma Pollard
No full textNoted poet, novelist, linguist, and educator, Velma Pollard was Visiting Professor of English at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, during the fall semester of 2001 when I conducted the following interview. John Martin, my graduate assistant at the time, assisted me in videotaping and transcribing our conversation, which took place in her cottage at the University on December 3, 2001
Review of Dread Talk: The Language of Rastafari by Velma Pollard
No full textPrieditis, Michelle. (2005). Review of Dread Talk: The Language of Rastafari by Velma Pollard. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/167817
Caribbean-Scottish Relations: Colonial and Contemporary Inscriptions in History, Language and Literature
No full textIn this book, Joan Anim Addo, Giovanna Covi, Velma Pollard, and Carla Sassi present the results of collaborative research on colonial and postcolonial relationships between the Caribbean and Scotland, promoted by the University of Trento, Italy, and coordinated by Giovanna Covi.
The four essays focus on the historical, cultural and literary representations of various aspects of this complicated interconnection: Joan Anim Addo’s on family history, Giovanna Covi’s on identities in African-Caribbean literature, Velma Pollard’s on Jamaican history and language, and Carla Sassi on Scottish literature. They discuss pivotal figures such as Mary Seacole, Charles and Hugh Mulzac, and texts by Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, James Robertson, by the anonymous Author of Marly, and by Una Marson, Claude McKay, Olive Senior, Jamaica Kincaid, and Nourbese Philip among others; they give voice to Juliana Mulzac through (auto)biography and to numerous other people through interviews and acts of re-memorying.
This book inaugurates the project to remap colonial history by accounting for the often paradoxical complexity of relations determined by imperial power; not only does it consider that which separates Scotland from the Caribbean, that which sets “Blackness” apart from “Scottishness”, but it also accepts an investigation of that which brings these two geopolitical areas and ethnic groups together. The inquiry results in a multi-vocal discourse that deconstructs national narratives, unveils colonial inscriptions, and releases the creolised images and words that demand full citizenship in the representation of the Circum-Atlanti
Creole Languages and Urban Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century (Tape 6)
No full textCreole Languages and Urban Education: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century
Creole Language Workshop, Florida International University Day 2
Linguistics Program Florida International University
Thursday, November 17 and Friday, November 18
8am – 5:30pm
Wolf University Center (UC) 320
FIU – North Campus
Organized by Tometro Hopkins
The first Creole language workshop of its kind in South Florida.
Opening remarks Virginia Miller, Linguistics Program Florida International University,
Speakers: Geneva Smitherman, African American English from the Hood to the Amen Corner
Frank Martinus, Papamiento Its Emancipation its actual status its instrumentalization and its role in education
Velma Pollard, Language Imagination and the World Word of the Creole Speaking Chil
Identity and dislocation in\ud Caribbean women's literature:\ud a study of the writings of\ud Velma Pollard
No full textJamaican-born Velma Pollard has been publishing poetry and short stories for nearly\ud
thirty years. Her first poems appeared in the 1970s, her first volume of short stories in\ud
1989, and her first novel in 1994. Despite this considerable literary output, in the evergrowing\ud
critical literature on Caribbean women's writing Pollard's work has not attracted\ud
any of the scholarly treatment accorded to other writers. Given this lack of critical\ud
attention to Pollard's considerable body of work, this thesis aims to provide the first\ud
detailed and contextualised study of her writings (excluding the majority of her poetry\ud
and of her writings on linguistics), and to accord Pollard the recognition her work\ud
deserves.\ud
Chapter 1 of this thesis situates Pollard's writings in the context of Caribbean\ud
(women's) literature, and writings on identity, dislocations and (Caribbean) migration. I\ud
argue that Pollard's principal contribution to Caribbean literature is found in her\ud
engagement with two main subjects, return migration and relationships (male-female and\ud
female-female), within a wider context of debates on identity and dislocation.\ud
Chapter 2 introduces Pollard's work by way of a general discussion of her novella\ud
Karl, which won the Casa de las Americas literary award in 1992. I consider Karl to be\ud
central to Pollard's work, not least because it features many of the themes explored by\ud
her later writings, including her novel, Homestretch, which is the subject of Chapter 3.\ud
Pollard's first novel, Homestretch, which was published in 1994, explores the themes\ud
of identity and dislocation through the experiences of 'return migrants' and 'repeat\ud
migrants' and their comparison of life in England, the United States and Jamaica. The\ud
novel chronicles how these migrants come to reconnect with and accept their cultural\ud
heritage.\ud
In chapters 4 and 5 I discuss selected stories taken from Pollard's two collections\ud
of short stories, Considering Woman ('Cages', 'My Sisters', 'My Mother', and 'Gran') and\ud
from Karl and Other Stories ('A Night's Tale', 'Miss Chandra', 'Betsy Hyde', and 'Altamont\ud
Jones'). In these stories Pollard explores male-female relationships and the lives of\ud
several generations and a wide range of Caribbean women and men. Pollard utilises the\ud
West Indian setting, speech, situations and conflicts in these stories to graphically\ud
describe familiar Caribbean role models and to provide a narrative and literary\ud
examination of the frustrations and conflicting desires of women in the region.\ud
In my conclusion, I address the ethnographic quality and significance of her work,\ud
and its contribution to an understanding of the Caribbean
- …
