Centerpiece Message

Caribbean writers have struggled with conforming to European literary standards due to the region's lack of historical tradition caused by slavery and colonialism. Early literature about the Caribbean often neglected the linguistic, cultural, and historical traditions of the people. However, modern Caribbean writers now recognize the importance of literature in revitalizing the tales of the people and expressing their unique regional voices. Writers like Louise Bennett and Derek Walcott have successfully used the language and setting of the Caribbean to move away from Europeanized literary ideas and establish the identity of Jamaica's everyday world. These writers give voice to the unique forms of expression found in the Caribbean. Many Caribbean writers have felt the burden of conformity to European standards of literary expression. The region is without the historical tradition of the old world, because the privilege to know the roots of its past has been undercut by slavery and colonialism. West Indian literature has been undervalued at best and ignored at worst. Much of the early literature set in the Caribbean was created by outsiders who omitted the linguistic, cultural, and historical traditions of the populace. Modern Caribbean writers now finally recognize that through literature the tales of the people can be revitalized. There is a call for unique regional voices, such as were embedded in the work of writers like Louise Bennett and Derek Walcott, who used the language and setting of the Caribbean to move away from Europeanized literary ideas and found the identity of the everyday world in Jamaica. Such writers give voice to unique Caribbean forms of expression.