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John Edgar Colwell Hearne

ジョン・エドガー・コールウェル・ハーン

John Edgar Colwell Hearne

Aliases: Jay Monroe / John Morris
Pen Names: Jay Monroe（Pseudonym used when writing newspaper columns (early Gleaner columns)）, John Morris（Joint pseudonym used for thrillers co-written with Morris Cargill）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1926-02-04 （Montreal, Quebec, Canada）
Died
1994-12-12 age 68
Nationality
Jamaica
Languages
English
Residence History
Kingston, Jamaica → United Kingdom (Edinburgh, London, etc.) → Various places in Europe (travel)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Journalist, Teacher
Active Years
1950-1994
Affiliations
University of the West Indies, Mona — Extra-Mural Department, Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts (first secretary)
Influenced By
Roger Mais (contemporary writer; travelled with him)
Influenced
Marlon James (student; novelist)

Education

Jamaica College
Country: Jamaica
Secondary school; attended in Kingston.
Edinburgh University
English and Philosophy
Country: United Kingdom
Read English and Philosophy.
London University
Teacher training
Country: United Kingdom
Trained as a teacher; taught in early 1950s.

Awards

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
1956
Work: Voices under the Window
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (awarding body)
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Voices under the Window

1955 Novel

Set in late 1940s/early 1950s Jamaica; frames the story of a man born into racial and economic privilege who chooses to side with the underprivileged, told via the injury and death of a progressive politician.

RaceSocial classPoliticsCaribbean identity

The Faces of Love

1959 Novel

One of a series set on the fictional island of Cayuna, dealing with love, human relationships, and social change.

Island societyLoveSocial change

Stranger at the Gate

1959 Novel

Set on Cayuna; explores outside influences and the reactions of local society.

Cultural clashCommunity

Land of the Living

1961 Novel

Part of the Cayuna series; reflects social issues in Jamaica at the time.

Economic developmentSocial justice

Fever Grass (as John Morris, co-authored)

1969 Thriller

A thriller co-written with Morris Cargill about an imaginary Jamaican secret service.

EspionagePolitical intrigue

The Sure Salvation

1985 Historical novel

Depicts a mid-19th-century slave ship voyage ending in the fictional British South American colony of Abari.

SlaveryColonialismHuman dignity

Bibliography

  • Voices under the Window (1955)
  • The Eye of the Storm (1958)
  • The Faces of Love (1959)
  • Stranger at the Gate (1959)
  • The Autumn Equinox (1959)
  • Land of the Living (1961)
  • Fever Grass (as John Morris, 1969)
  • The Candywine Development (as John Morris, 1970)
  • The Checkerboard Caper (as John Morris, 1975)
  • The Sure Salvation (1985)
  • John Hearne's Short Fiction (ed. Shivaun Hearne, 2016)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realist depictionDirect engagement with social and political issues
Recurring Motifs
Representation of the region through the fictional island CayunaTensions of class and racePolitical change and violence

Legacy

John Hearne was among the first Caribbean authors to win a major British literary prize (John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, 1956). Through his teaching and editorial work at the University of the West Indies he influenced subsequent writers; his papers are held in a collection at UWI Mona.

Archives

  • University of the West Indies, Mona — John Hearne Collection (1982–1994)

In Popular Culture

  • Marlon James credited Hearne's creative writing classes at UWI as a 'game-changer' for his development as a writer.
  • His short stories and novels are frequently cited in Caribbean literature anthologies and academic studies.

Trivia

  • John Hearne used the pseudonym Jay Monroe for newspaper columns.
  • Thrillers co-written with Morris Cargill were published under the name John Morris.