Literature and Culture in the Black Atlantic : From Pre- to Postcolonial

This book extends our understanding of the black Atlantic, a term coined by Paul Gilroy to describe the political, cultural and creative interrelations among blacks living in Africa, the Americas and Europe. This study focuses on pre-colonial English literary constructions and their effects on post-Independence Caribbean literature. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-18 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 Beginnings I: Africa in the Medieval European Imaginary....Pages 21-52 “Ethiopes like the develes of helle”: Monster Theory, Giants, and the Sowdone of Babylone....Pages 53-84 Front Matter....Pages 85-85 On the Crest of Two Worlds: the Renaissance Precolonial....Pages 87-122 Mimicry and Identity on the Black Atlantic: Derek Walcott’s Dream on Monkey Mountain....Pages 123-153 Conclusion....Pages 155-161 Back Matter....Pages 163-200