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George William Lamming

ジョージ・ウィリアム・ラミング

George William Lamming

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1927-06-08 （Carrington Village, Saint Philip, Barbados）
Died
2022-06-04 （Bridgetown, Barbados） age 94
Nationality
Barbadian
Languages
English
Residence History
Carrington Village (birthplace), Barbados → Port of Spain, Trinidad (teaching period) → England (London and elsewhere) → Jamaica (Mona, University of the West Indies) → United States (visiting academic posts) → Bridgetown, Barbados (later life)

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, poet, academic
Active Years
1946-2022
Affiliations
University of the West Indies (Mona), Duke University (visiting), Brown University (Africana Studies, visiting), Cornell University (visiting), Sidney Martin Library (personal collection repository)
Influenced By
Frank Collymore, C.L.R. James, Richard Wright
Influenced
Derek Walcott, Kamau Brathwaite, subsequent generations of Caribbean writers

Education

Roebuck Boys' School
Country: Barbados
Primary/early schooling. Exact completion year unknown.
Combermere School
Country: Barbados
Attended on scholarship; received literary encouragement.

Awards

Kenyon Review Fellowship
1954
Organization: Kenyon Review
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1955
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Somerset Maugham Award
1957
Work: In the Castle of My Skin
Organization: The Society of Authors
Result: 受賞
Canada Council Fellowship
1962
Organization: Canada Council
Result: 受賞
Companion of Honour of Barbados
1987
Organization: Government of Barbados
Result: 受章
Langston Hughes Medal
1998
Organization: Langston Hughes Medal awarding body
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the Institute of Jamaica
2003
Organization: Institute of Jamaica
Result: 選出
Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC)
2008
Organization: CARICOM (Caribbean Community)
Result: 受章
Caribbean Hibiscus Prize
2011
Organization: UNEAC (National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba)
Result: 受賞（生涯功労）
ALBA Cultural Award
2012
Organization: ALBA
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (Lifetime Achievement)
2014
Category: Lifetime Achievement
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
The Presidents Award (St. Martin Book Fair)
2009
Organization: St. Martin Book Fair
Result: 受賞
Clement Payne Appreciation Award
2013
Organization: relevant awarding body
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

In the Castle of My Skin

1953 Novel (autobiographical elements)

A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel set in Barbados that examines community life, colonial experience, and the formation of identity.

migrationidentitycolonialismcommunity

The Emigrants

1954 Novel

Follows the protagonist's migration from Barbados to England, exploring the social, economic and cultural dislocation experienced by West Indian emigrants.

emigration experiencealienationcultural conflict

Of Age and Innocence

1958 Novel

Set on the fictional island of San Cristobal; addresses themes of maturation, social complexity, memory and history.

memorysocial conflictcoming of age

Season of Adventure

1960 Novel / mixed elements

Another work set on San Cristobal dealing with individual and social trials, containing symbolic and dramatic elements.

social changeindividual responsibility

Water with Berries

1971 Novel

A novel that references Shakespeare's The Tempest to critique flaws within West Indian society.

postcolonialismcultural interpretation

Natives of My Person

1972 Novel

Considered one of Lamming's finest novels; illuminates dark areas of the colonial past and examines historical violence and memory.

historical violencememoryresistance

The Pleasures of Exile

1960 Essays

An essay collection examining the West Indian intellectual in exile, reinterpreting Shakespeare's The Tempest and discussing culture and identity.

exileintellectual consciousnesscultural criticism

Bibliography

  • In the Castle of My Skin (1953)
  • The Emigrants (1954)
  • Of Age and Innocence (1958)
  • Season of Adventure (1960)
  • The Pleasures of Exile (1960)
  • Water with Berries (1971)
  • Natives of My Person (1972)
  • Coming, Coming Home: Conversations II (1995)
  • Sovereignty of the Imagination: Conversations III (2009)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
critical perspective on colonialismautobiographical and social-historical reconstructionblend of philosophical essay and narrative
Recurring Motifs
migration and movementmemory and childhoodcommunity and its fragmentationformation of identity

Legacy

George Lamming was a leading figure in West Indian literature whose works on colonial history, memory and migration significantly shaped Caribbean cultural self-understanding. He received numerous honors and his papers and legacy are preserved in educational and cultural institutions.

Museums

  • George Lamming Primary School Flint Hall, St Michael, Barbados Opened in 2008
  • George Lamming Pedagogical Centre (EBCCI) Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Cave Hill, Barbados

Academic Societies

  • Institute of Jamaica (Fellow)

Archives

  • Sidney Martin Library, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill (holds his personal literary collection)

In Popular Culture

  • 'In the Castle of My Skin' was included on the Big Jubilee Read list of 70 Commonwealth books
  • Cited by Barbados media and the Prime Minister as a national icon

Quotes

  • “I tried to reconstruct the world of my childhood and early adolescence. It was also the world of a whole Caribbean society.”
    Source: Comment by George Lamming regarding In the Castle of My Skin (1953)

Trivia

  • He and other Caribbean writers (e.g., Kamau Brathwaite) indicated privately that they could not accept a knighthood.
  • His son Gordon predeceased him in 2021.
  • He remained active into old age and died in Bridgetown in 2022 at age 94.