Chapter 1 - Walcott, writing and the Caribbean: issues and directions

Summary

Derek Walcott's Nobel lecture, delivered at the high noon of his career, is a good vantage point from which to take a comprehensive look at his achievement. The lecture brings together virtually all the major concerns which have driven his work and shaped his idea of himself as a writer. It provides a conceptual framework within which to discuss the work, not only by the extent to which it confirms positions previously evident, but also by the extent to which it represents changes of emphasis. The concerns which it brings into focus have been central to debate about the nature and identity of Caribbean literature and culture. This interest is by no means parochial or limiting. For Walcott, to define himself as Caribbean man is to delineate a view of the world and to locate himself in the world.

These concerns include the legacy of Caribbean history, the effects of diaspora and the challenge of cultural fragmentation and diversity, the factors of class, race and language as cultural and artistic determinants, as well as the challenges of craft, to use a favourite word of his. Walcott's stature as a writer, as is the case with any great writer, is not just a function of his having an extraordinarily compelling way with words. It also rests on the fact that his work represents a considerable body of integrated ideas, some of which are additionally engaging or contentious because they are not afraid to go against the popular grain.