Saints' alumnus, Prof. Victor Ramraj of the University of Calgary, has edited an anthology of Commonwealth Literature. It is highly recommended for all our students.
Prof. Ramraj's voluminous anthology is in effect a who's who of prominent and less well known writers across the English-speaking world. A cursory glance at the contents brings a gleam of recognition to the eye even for someone whose background is limited to the Caribbean and Canada. We find fiction, plays, essays and poems by Achebe, Louise Bennett, Neil Bissoondath, Edward Braithwaite, Austin Clarke, Dabydeen, Fred D'Aguiar, Gordimer, Wilson Harris, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Jamaica Kinkaid, Pauline Melville, Mervin Morris, Mistry, Naipaul, R.K Narayan, Ondaatjie, Rhys, Sasenarine Persaud, Olive Senior, Philip Sherlock, Selvon, Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiongo, and Walcott, to name a few.
In his introduction, Ramraj states that his intention is "to provide an alternative text to anthologies of traditional and established writings (in which the new writings in English invariably are displaced and marginalised) and to complement these anthologies". The selections can be used to show "that literature alerts us to the common and shared in human experience, whatever our own particular cultural, ethnic, historical. national, or political attachments". What is common to humanity: human relations at the level of the family, community, nation (at home or abroad) are all covered in the selection against a background of diverse cultures.
In the multicultural environment that we experience in the Caribbean or North America, it is crucial to realise that beneath it all we are individuals sharing the same basic hopes, dreams. insecurites and concerns of all those around us, no matter what superficial differences may exist. Prof. Ramraj's anthology helps bring home this fact to the reader while simulaneously providing a fascinating read and great insight into various cultures.
G.W.
http://www.guyanachronicle.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40815:concert-of-guyanese-voices&catid=18:lead-stories&Itemid=17
