Derek Walcott and the Creation of a Classical Caribbean

About this book

"Derek Walcott's fascination with ancient Greece and Rome can be traced from his earliest poetry collection, self-published when he was just eighteen years old, to his most recent, White Egrets (2010). Scholarly attention has focused on his epic poem, Omeros, and its stage version. By adopting a thematic approach derived from Walcott's own theoretical concerns, this book situates these two works within the context of his wider oeuvre. It turns an analytic spotlight on his other poetry and drama, and reveals how embedded classical myth and literature are within his work as a whole. However, for Walcott, as for many contemporary Caribbean writers, assertions of indebtedness to the Western canon (which has been so dominated by European works) are politically problematic, laced as they are with suggestions of derivative imitation and a lack of originality. Walcott counters this with a trifold argument that pervades his work: firstly, that the temporal axis should be perceived as meaningless, thereby doing away with the oppressive power of history. Secondly, that 'hybridity' -- a term reclaimed for a modern, postcolonial era -- lies at the heart of Caribbean life and art, with influences from Africa and Europe being an innate part of West Indian identity. Thirdly, that the Caribbean prerogative is to rename, and thereby re-create, the world anew. This book examines Walcott's engagement with classical literature through this triple lens to reveal how integral Graeco-Roman antiquity is to his Caribbean vision."--