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Erna Brodber

エルナ・ブロッドバー

Erna Brodber

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1940-04-20 （Woodside, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica (then Colony of Jamaica)）
Nationality
Jamaica
Languages
English
Residence History
Woodside, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica → Mona (University of the West Indies), Jamaica

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Sociologist, Social activist, Researcher, Lecturer
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, University of the West Indies (Writer-in-Residence, 2013–2014)

Education

University College of the West Indies (now University of the West Indies)
Degree: B.A.
Country: Jamaica
Bachelor's degree (year not specified)
University College of the West Indies (now University of the West Indies)
Degree: MSc
Country: Jamaica
Master's degree (year not specified)
University College of the West Indies (now University of the West Indies)
Degree: PhD
Country: Jamaica
Doctorate (details unspecified). Received a predoctoral fellowship in psychiatric anthropology

Awards

Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Caribbean and Canada)
1989
Work: Myal
Organization: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Result: 受賞
Musgrave Medal (Gold) — Literature and Orature
1999
Category: 文学・オーラチュア
Organization: Institute of Jamaica
Result: 受賞
Order of Distinction (Commander Class)
2004
Organization: Government of Jamaica
Result: 受勲
Prince Claus Award
2006
Organization: Prince Claus Fund
Result: 受賞
Windham–Campbell Literature Prize
2017
Organization: Yale University
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home

1980 Novel

An early novel set in a rural community, addressing memory, relationships and social change.

memorycommunitysocial change

Myal

1988 Novel (magical/non-realist elements)

Explores psychic damage of colonialism, weaving oral traditions and non-linear notions of time to probe communal memory.

effects of colonialismoral traditionmemorymagical elements

Louisiana

1994 Novel

Based on collected oral histories of elderly people; depicts history and personal memory where past and present intermingle.

oral historyambiguous timetradition and memory

The Rainmaker's Mistake

2007 Novel

A novel that intertwines social and historical themes to portray community dynamics.

communityhistorytradition

Nothing's Mat

2014 Novel

A more recent work addressing questions of social memory and personal history.

memorypersonal historysociety

Bibliography

  • Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home (1980)
  • Myal (1988)
  • Louisiana (1994)
  • The Rainmaker's Mistake (2007)
  • Nothing's Mat (2014)
  • The People of my Jamaican Village, 1817 - 1948 (1999)
  • Woodside, Pear Tree Grove P.O. (2004)
  • The Second Generation of Freemen in Jamaica, 1907–1944 (2004)
  • The Continent of Black Consciousness (2003)
  • Moments of Cooperation and Incorporation: African American and African Jamaican Connections, 1782-1996 (2019)

Adaptations

  • Ratoon: a New Jamaica (play performed 2015 by Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, School of Drama)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative that fuses oral tradition with magical/non-realist elementsNon-linear treatment of timeCritical approach that deconstructs colonial ways of knowing
Recurring Motifs
ancestral memorycommunal oral traditionambiguous timeritual and folklore

Legacy

Erna Brodber is a significant Jamaican and Caribbean writer-scholar known for linking oral tradition and fiction to challenge colonial historical narratives. She has received multiple national and international awards and exerts scholarly and cultural influence.

Archives

  • Institute of Jamaica

In Popular Culture

  • Invited appearances at international literary and cultural festivals (e.g., participation at Zanzibar International Film Festival)

Trivia

  • Her sister is writer Velma Pollard.
  • Served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of the West Indies, Mona (2013–2014).
  • Won the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize in 2017.