www.africultures.com/.../jamaica_kincaid.jpg
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
American-Commentary Series: Vermont's Big Three
Commentary Series: Vermont's Big Three: "Monday, 02/18/02 12am
Vermont's Big Three
By Jules Older, Albany, Vermont
Who is Vermont's leading adult fiction author? Let's define leading as most renowned, most acclaimed, most internationally known and respected.
So here's my answer: three writers share the glory spot, the top step on the podium. All three are women. None are native to Vermont. And two are from islands in the Caribbean. The third is from closer, geographically, but so distant in most other ways, it might as well be a tropical island.
My picks for Vermont's leading adult fiction author are: Jamaica Kincaid from Antigua, Julia Alvarez from the Dominican Republic, and Grace Paley from de Bronx.
Jamaica Kincaid is the darkest of the three, and I don't mean skin color. Many of her characters are without illusion, without mirth, without optimism. Here's how the title character of LUCY describes herself: I did not have position, I did not have money at my disposal. I had memory, I had anger, I had despair."
Julia Alvarez paints from a broader emotional palette. Her characters fight and moan and despair, but they also love and laugh and meet life head-on. In her novel, YO, here's how Yo's mother describes her American experience: To tell you the truth, the hardest thing coming to this country wasn't the winter everyone warned me about it was the language. If you had to choose the most tongue-twisting way of saying you love somebody, then say it in English. For the longest time I thought Americans must be smarter than us Latins because how else could they speak such a difficult language. After a while, it struck me the other way. Given the choice of languages, only a fool would choose to speak English on purpose.
And here, in a story called THE LOUDEST VOICE, Grace Paley's young lead character describes her voice and her surroundings: There is a certain place where dumb-waiters boom, doors slam, dishes crash; every window is a mother s mouth bidding the street shut up, go skate somewhere else, come home. My voice is the loudest.
So what does it say about them that these three star writers chose to live in Vermont, far from palm trees and loud city streets? To me it says that they were bold enough, ruthless enough, curious enough to leave family and the familiar to create a new life for themselves. That boldness is brilliantly reflected in their writing.
And what does it say about Vermont? To me it says several things. That, despite our cold climate, we are a desirable resting place for writers. That we accept the unusual, the different, the creative, and make them feel something approximating at home. It says that we appreciate accomplishment but give the accomplisher enough room to go to the store and grow her garden in peace.
Our reward is living next door to some of the world's finest writers.
This is Jules Older in Albany, Vermont, the Soul of the Kingdom.
Another Vermont site about the number of writers living in Vermont: Moving to the Write
Vermont's Big Three
By Jules Older, Albany, Vermont
Who is Vermont's leading adult fiction author? Let's define leading as most renowned, most acclaimed, most internationally known and respected.
So here's my answer: three writers share the glory spot, the top step on the podium. All three are women. None are native to Vermont. And two are from islands in the Caribbean. The third is from closer, geographically, but so distant in most other ways, it might as well be a tropical island.
My picks for Vermont's leading adult fiction author are: Jamaica Kincaid from Antigua, Julia Alvarez from the Dominican Republic, and Grace Paley from de Bronx.
Jamaica Kincaid is the darkest of the three, and I don't mean skin color. Many of her characters are without illusion, without mirth, without optimism. Here's how the title character of LUCY describes herself: I did not have position, I did not have money at my disposal. I had memory, I had anger, I had despair."
Julia Alvarez paints from a broader emotional palette. Her characters fight and moan and despair, but they also love and laugh and meet life head-on. In her novel, YO, here's how Yo's mother describes her American experience: To tell you the truth, the hardest thing coming to this country wasn't the winter everyone warned me about it was the language. If you had to choose the most tongue-twisting way of saying you love somebody, then say it in English. For the longest time I thought Americans must be smarter than us Latins because how else could they speak such a difficult language. After a while, it struck me the other way. Given the choice of languages, only a fool would choose to speak English on purpose.
And here, in a story called THE LOUDEST VOICE, Grace Paley's young lead character describes her voice and her surroundings: There is a certain place where dumb-waiters boom, doors slam, dishes crash; every window is a mother s mouth bidding the street shut up, go skate somewhere else, come home. My voice is the loudest.
So what does it say about them that these three star writers chose to live in Vermont, far from palm trees and loud city streets? To me it says that they were bold enough, ruthless enough, curious enough to leave family and the familiar to create a new life for themselves. That boldness is brilliantly reflected in their writing.
And what does it say about Vermont? To me it says several things. That, despite our cold climate, we are a desirable resting place for writers. That we accept the unusual, the different, the creative, and make them feel something approximating at home. It says that we appreciate accomplishment but give the accomplisher enough room to go to the store and grow her garden in peace.
Our reward is living next door to some of the world's finest writers.
This is Jules Older in Albany, Vermont, the Soul of the Kingdom.
Another Vermont site about the number of writers living in Vermont: Moving to the Write
American Teen: Smart Girl
An American teen oriented site that is supported by the National Science Foundation and the University of Michigan.
SmartGirl
Aquarius: "Famous Female Aquarius:
Jamaica Kincaid (born May 25, 1949) is an American writer, although she was born in Antigua. When she was a teen, she got a job in the United States as an au pair (nanny). Instead of sending the money home to her parents, whose morals she disagreed with, she worked odd jobs to stay in New York City, all the while writing notes for stories. One day, a good friend got ahold of some her notes and published them! To be an author, she changed her name to Jamaica Kincaid, which allowed her a break from the past and let her feel comfortable referencing that past for her work. She has published several works of fiction and even some nonfiction. We love Jamaica Kincaid because she is a strong woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she knew was right, even if it meant taking an uncertain path and going against her family. She used writing as a therapeutic way to deal with a dissatisfying and difficult past. Because she made the hard decision to follow her dreams with all her heart, she is now very happy with her life. She teaches in beautiful Vermont, where she now has a loving and supportive family with her husband and two children.
SmartGirl
Aquarius: "Famous Female Aquarius:
Jamaica Kincaid (born May 25, 1949) is an American writer, although she was born in Antigua. When she was a teen, she got a job in the United States as an au pair (nanny). Instead of sending the money home to her parents, whose morals she disagreed with, she worked odd jobs to stay in New York City, all the while writing notes for stories. One day, a good friend got ahold of some her notes and published them! To be an author, she changed her name to Jamaica Kincaid, which allowed her a break from the past and let her feel comfortable referencing that past for her work. She has published several works of fiction and even some nonfiction. We love Jamaica Kincaid because she is a strong woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she knew was right, even if it meant taking an uncertain path and going against her family. She used writing as a therapeutic way to deal with a dissatisfying and difficult past. Because she made the hard decision to follow her dreams with all her heart, she is now very happy with her life. She teaches in beautiful Vermont, where she now has a loving and supportive family with her husband and two children.
Take note of the happy ending of Jamaica Kincaid's life story.
At the Bottom of the River is the most difficult to read. Why don't they recommend
Annie John?
Canadian Blog by Claire Go
kiss a cloud: Readathon Hour 24: "I can't even begin to express how much I love Jamaica Kincaid. This isn't her best, probably even my least favourite of her books so far. Still, it is beautiful and I loved it. My heart soars when I read her. Maybe it's because I've grown to love her writing so much. But for those reading her for the first time, this won't make much of an impression."
Blogger Claire Go on
A Small Place
E-mail comment:
"You are right, my reaction was purely a reader's response. I'm afraid I'm a terrible critic, as my pleasure in reading relies heavily on the aesthetic, i.e. the beauty of language, and what moves me emotionally, etc. As I do not remember much of what I had read before, just basing on the most recent, which was A Small Place, I do not think she was overly angry, but I do sense some bitterness. Her resentment towards the British capitalists was evident throughout the book. It was even the whole point of the book, I think, and not really Antigua itself. I have no biases against so-called angry authors, however. And yes, I do think her anger is justifiable. How can one not be angry with that history? What's great about her is that she is able to transform her anger into something truly beautiful and worth reading, and still able to send out the message. I believe I had read Girl before. If I'm not mistaken, it's one of the stories in At the Bottom of the River. I'll check my shelf later. I didn't know you were a blogger, I'll have to check it right away!
By the way, my last name is Go. Yes, you may use it, although I doubt I would have anything worthwhile to say. Haha. :)"
Blogger Claire Go on
A Small Place
E-mail comment:
"You are right, my reaction was purely a reader's response. I'm afraid I'm a terrible critic, as my pleasure in reading relies heavily on the aesthetic, i.e. the beauty of language, and what moves me emotionally, etc. As I do not remember much of what I had read before, just basing on the most recent, which was A Small Place, I do not think she was overly angry, but I do sense some bitterness. Her resentment towards the British capitalists was evident throughout the book. It was even the whole point of the book, I think, and not really Antigua itself. I have no biases against so-called angry authors, however. And yes, I do think her anger is justifiable. How can one not be angry with that history? What's great about her is that she is able to transform her anger into something truly beautiful and worth reading, and still able to send out the message. I believe I had read Girl before. If I'm not mistaken, it's one of the stories in At the Bottom of the River. I'll check my shelf later. I didn't know you were a blogger, I'll have to check it right away!
By the way, my last name is Go. Yes, you may use it, although I doubt I would have anything worthwhile to say. Haha. :)"
"Get Jamaica" Clarifies Confusion About Jamaica Kincaid, the Place
Question: (Jamaican reader emails question)
Where is Jamaica Kincaid?
Answer: "Jamaica Kincaid is not a location-a very very very common misunderstanding."
"Her real name is Cynthia Potter Richardson."
"Lucy is a description of her (Kincaid's) adulthood in coming to America."
"Go to Amazon.com and you can find... An Autobiography of her Mother"
Interesting (mis)-information from Jamaican news source http://www.getjamaica.com/
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Transcultural Women
"It Doesn't Matter What You do or Where You Go": Fleeing Cross-Culturality in Jamaica Kincaids' A Small Place, Annie John, Lucy and Autobiography of My Mother. Chapter 4 Pauline T. Newton, in Transcultural Women 2005 p 77-105
Note on Kincaid's Hair
What does Kincaid coloring her hair blonde and cutting it short mean? How is it related to identity? Comments in these footnotes speak to these issues.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Kincaid Speaks on Gardens
Studio 4 Ideas Center WCPN Radio Interview September 22, 2009
"The Tree of Life is agriculture and the Tree of Knowledge is horticulture...;"
"after people have enough to eat, then they go into growing for beauty"
Jamaica Kincaid
http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/an/27911
"The Tree of Life is agriculture and the Tree of Knowledge is horticulture...;"
"after people have enough to eat, then they go into growing for beauty"
Jamaica Kincaid
http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/an/27911
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Autobiographical Impact on Kincaid`s Writing
Individual Dynamic; Kincaid as herself
“I write about myself for the most part, and about things that have happened to me. Everything I say is true, and everything I say is not true. You couldn't admit any of it to a court of law. It would not be good evidence.”
Jamaica Kincaid (Mo Review interview, Kay Bonnetti)
Does Jamaica Kincaid write autobiographically? The preceding quotation seems to be an answer to this question; however, she seems to enjoy muddying up a clear answer by both affirming and contradicting herself in the same answer. Later on within this same interview, rather than clarifying her answer, Kincaid attributes her ambiguity to her Caribbean ancestry, continuing to embed her formative identity into this location.
In J.Brooks Bouson`s book, Jamaica Kincaid; Writing Memory, Writing Back to the Mother, assertive statements about Jamaica Kincaid`s identity and intention are tidily solved as Kincaid and her works are placed neatly within the psychological field. Her motivation is attributed to an experience of shame and trauma experienced primarily within the mother-daughter relationship. Though this book appears to address the psychological aspects of Kincaid`s life, the differences between cultures of the United States and the Caribbean are collapsed. Kincaid is viewed within the minority construct within the United States.
This oversight of cultural difference between the Caribbean and the US is most apparent in the simplification of the mother, Annie Drew, who is characterized as a dominating shame inducing mother. The complete oversight of Kincaid`s contradiction of her understandings, her own ambivalent portrayals of herself and her Antiguan family, points to a serious flaw in Bouson`s analysis. The glossing over of cultural difference and simplification of understanding is a problem. When Kincaid’s contradictions are admitted to, they are attributed to her effort to gain greater personal freedom, which is similar to the social construct of the American feminist`s independence movement. Bouson repeatedly writes that Kincaid had a cruel and humiliating mother, without considering Annie Drew`s place within Antiguan society. What stresses might she have been under to behave in so harsh a manner towards her daughter? In two books, Kincaid writes that her mother should not have had children (My Brother, Lucy) and Bouson takes her at her word; but what does Kincaid actually and permanently mean this statement? Is she actually saying that her mother never was an adequate mother? By inquiring further, it soon becomes clear that Kincaid also has moments of praise toward her mother. She attributes her reading skill to her mother, her writer`s voice is directly connected to her mother. If Kincaid actually hated her cruel mother as Bousen claims, why would she have named her daughter Annie, after her mother? Kincaid`s complication of her relationship with her mother can be discovered by noting the factual contradictions uncovered in reviews, interviews, and in her fiction and nonfiction examined over her lifetime.
This question points to another oversight, as a writer who seems self-aware yet continually contradicts herself, maybe she has a reason for her inconsistencies? What would be her reason for this ambiguity? Individuals change over time; and too, their opinions may change based on situational reasons, more information, or even whim. Anyone who has written privately in a journal knows that the explorations there are frequently transitory insights that are revised or re-understood at a later time, especially when subjects are revisited over many years. Kincaid’s work has to be viewed within a cultural framework that accounts for her individuality. Kincaid writes public journals that play with the tropes of autobiography but always feel as if they might be revised again.
Reflecting back to Kincaid´s comment that her mother should not have had children, would not circumstances create a powerful woman such as Annie Drew who pushes forward even as she makes mistakes? Consider the chapter, “Girl” in At the Bottom of the River, where the mother continually tells the daughter that she will become a “slut”. Some Caribbean students have responded that the mother is worried about the daughter and wants to protect her from what has happened to so many others. It is not rare within the Caribbean for a parent to use negative/harsh criticism in order to express concern for the child’s safety or to prevent mistakes. What is seen as a cruel comment by Bouson, should be placed in the Caribbean context.
Kincaid said in an interview that she stopped criticizing her mother because her mother did not have the public access to respond in a fair way. Kincaid has been able to write personally and provide her own perceptions whereas those within her family cannot publicly respond. Kincaid reveals in this interview that she is carrying on an argument, like a public street fight, but she realizes the other side cannot be heard. Anne Drew is verbally gifted. Kincaid writes about her mother´s talent in her collection of essays, In a Small Place; it is a sense of fair play that later constrains Kincaid. She knows that her mother`s gift for public rebuttal is unavailable.
If the reader were to set aside everything outside of the text, author biography and personality and just look at the written words alone, would this be a fair reading of Kincaid? The author, Margaret Atwood writes that since the author’s life factors are always changing and flexible, the only reliable understanding of the work is found within the work itself, i.e. the only truth to be found is within the text. This disconnected approach cannot be applied to Kincaid’s writing because she repeatedly references the author and her biography. Sometimes Kincaid uses accurate names, or changes them slightly. She also elaborates on events that occur from one work to another, only shifting the emotional tone or casting the events in a different light. Additionally, when Kincaid writes, there is a Caribbean audience whose presence hovers within the text even while she seems to address a western (or American) audience. This presence makes it difficult to isolate the work outside of multiple contexts. The reader of Kincaid becomes obsessed with the author’s biography, what is a factually true statement verses an emotionally true one? What is in fact a lie? Kincaid writes to this reader by relentlessly pointing to her biography.
In Walking in the Himalayas, Kincaid writes that she is obsessing about her son, Harold; she is excessively fearful of his well being, though he has stayed home in Vermont and she is the one traveling. She has encountered threatening military Maoist and has more than once felt threatened. Nevertheless, she worries like an over protective mother. She continually writes about her motherly anxiety but her fear for her son seems to be out of place. After all, he is in a much safer environment than Kincaid. Her concern comes across as somewhat forced or put on. In this same context, Kincaid is troubled over calling herself Canadian, in order to hide from the angry militants, but she writes that she “would never call herself or think to call herself anything other than American” and later she writes that she could only be called “Antiguan now living in Vermont.” All of her contradictions are related to a kind of identity movement that can only be securely grounded in Antigua.
What are the reasons for her changes? In My Brother she reverts to her own family as a healthy new space/place for herself but her old role as daughter and sister does show a shift towards peace making. When Kincaid visits her home with her children, she encourages their relationship with her mother even though Kincaid points out that there is a competitive feeling between them. Her mother continually tries to obtain confirmation that her grandchildren like her better than their mother. When the grandmother believes that they like her better, she celebrates but Kincaid just accepts that this is a quality of her mother’s love. She also makes a genuine attempt to know her youngest brother who later dies of AIDS despite her active involvement in obtaining treatment and drugs for him from the United States. When she returns to the states, she continually refers to her Vermont home as the perfect place and her ideal role within her family. She never mentions that her husband can never travel with her to Antigua because of his agoraphobia or any other domestic points where problems in her paradise might exist. So much so that many are surprised when they find out that she is divorced. These inconsistencies create questions about what is hidden and what is revealed by Kincaid creating a wary atmosphere when reading her work.
Two theoretical/critical approaches are particularly relevant when considering Kincaid’s autobiography and her writing focus; these are the Feminist Standpoint Theory and the individualist’s perspective. Both approaches point to the question, who does Kincaid represent? Does she speak for a community?
One aspect of Kincaid’s identity formation has to do with her shifting sometimes called fluid subject position. Nevertheless, she has been latched onto by various groups who claim her as their own, African American scholars and American feminists, for example. Kincaid is classified by publishers as African American but Kincaid does not actually embrace the classification. Nevertheless, she often is an invited speaker to activities that celebrate African American contributions to literature. She has been both embraced and rejected by feminists but claims that she does not want to box her creative self into a particular perspective. Is Kincaid a feminist? This is too broad of a question and it makes more sense to focus on to one approach, such as Feminist Standpoint Theory as understood by Nancy Harcourt. (Her input to this question is particularly valuable because she also writes about autobiography and subject positions.) Does Jamaica Kincaid have a standpoint? Does she have a position to argue from? Clearly it is difficult to place her without a through analysis of her written texts and her interviews.
Does being flexible mean that there is no standpoint? Brooke Lenz argues that Kincaid’s multiple standpoints offer a way to more accurately understand her experience of being a woman and the power dynamic that characterizes the role of a post-colonial subject. Kincaid refuses to be boxed into a pre-constructed identity because she wants to maintain her freedom and nurture her creativity. The resultant oxymoronic identity construction is highly individualized. An example of a competent woman falling into non-feminists discourse is found in My Garden Book. Kincaid points out that she cannot handle money. She writes that her husband will not allow her to write checks because she does not keep track of the accounts. Her husband has to pay all the bills. Feminist scholars who want to claim Kincaid as their spokesperson or a role model, must revolt at her reference of the gender biased script of the woman who cannot handle money. Kincaid’s love of all things domestic [her own words] might also rankle, even though the concept of domestic space has a more complicated meaning related to a power base and as validation in African American and Caribbean writing and living.
Returning to Standpoint Theory, Lenz interrogates Lucy by referring to classic literary frames such as identity and point of view in order to question if Lucy has a standpoint -or rather to show how Lucy arrives at a standpoint by reflecting on the processes she undergoes while adjusting to an alien country, the United States. It is important to consider that Standpoint Theory has most often been used within the field of the social sciences and applied to identity and social behavior. Kincaid’s work can be more easily connected to social science analysis because it is autobiographically based; it is uniquely situated.
As to Kincaid’s standpoint, can she be a feminist if she does not claim it is so? Even without the term feminist, it is clear that Kincaid`s characters Annie in Annie John and Lucy in Lucy were both rebellious because of an unequal difference in how the genders are treated. Annie John spoke of her change in relation with her mother after her brothers were born; Lucy, too, mentions the obstacle of her brother’s birth to her education, both character’s mention that the reason they left Antigua was to earn money to send home. Kincaid confirms that her mother did intend for her to send money home to help support the family but she decided to break from the family and cultural expectation of self-sacrifice. The entire concept of privileging males over females as it relates to education and expectation is addressed frequently in most of Kincaid’s books. For example, Lucy confronts the double standard related to sexual freedom and becomes empowered through enjoying sexuality without commitment and without love. Annie rebels when her brothers are born and a new set of expectations for her behavior are insisted upon.
These two core threads connected to the feminist movement; i.e., the imbalance of power through unequal treatment of the genders, specifically the preference of sons over daughters, and through the double-standard regarding sexual freedom, fit in with most definitions of a feminist. Kincaid’s reason for resisting labels is well documented but they primarily focus on the constraint that those labels might place on her writing. There is tension between an author’s freedom to create and producing work that is marketable. Kincaid’s resistance to the feminist identification while calling attention to well known feminist’s concerns is likely her way of negotiating a creative space for her individuality while gesturing toward the concerns of a particular identifiable group.
“I write about myself for the most part, and about things that have happened to me. Everything I say is true, and everything I say is not true. You couldn't admit any of it to a court of law. It would not be good evidence.”
Jamaica Kincaid (Mo Review interview, Kay Bonnetti)
Does Jamaica Kincaid write autobiographically? The preceding quotation seems to be an answer to this question; however, she seems to enjoy muddying up a clear answer by both affirming and contradicting herself in the same answer. Later on within this same interview, rather than clarifying her answer, Kincaid attributes her ambiguity to her Caribbean ancestry, continuing to embed her formative identity into this location.
In J.Brooks Bouson`s book, Jamaica Kincaid; Writing Memory, Writing Back to the Mother, assertive statements about Jamaica Kincaid`s identity and intention are tidily solved as Kincaid and her works are placed neatly within the psychological field. Her motivation is attributed to an experience of shame and trauma experienced primarily within the mother-daughter relationship. Though this book appears to address the psychological aspects of Kincaid`s life, the differences between cultures of the United States and the Caribbean are collapsed. Kincaid is viewed within the minority construct within the United States.
This oversight of cultural difference between the Caribbean and the US is most apparent in the simplification of the mother, Annie Drew, who is characterized as a dominating shame inducing mother. The complete oversight of Kincaid`s contradiction of her understandings, her own ambivalent portrayals of herself and her Antiguan family, points to a serious flaw in Bouson`s analysis. The glossing over of cultural difference and simplification of understanding is a problem. When Kincaid’s contradictions are admitted to, they are attributed to her effort to gain greater personal freedom, which is similar to the social construct of the American feminist`s independence movement. Bouson repeatedly writes that Kincaid had a cruel and humiliating mother, without considering Annie Drew`s place within Antiguan society. What stresses might she have been under to behave in so harsh a manner towards her daughter? In two books, Kincaid writes that her mother should not have had children (My Brother, Lucy) and Bouson takes her at her word; but what does Kincaid actually and permanently mean this statement? Is she actually saying that her mother never was an adequate mother? By inquiring further, it soon becomes clear that Kincaid also has moments of praise toward her mother. She attributes her reading skill to her mother, her writer`s voice is directly connected to her mother. If Kincaid actually hated her cruel mother as Bousen claims, why would she have named her daughter Annie, after her mother? Kincaid`s complication of her relationship with her mother can be discovered by noting the factual contradictions uncovered in reviews, interviews, and in her fiction and nonfiction examined over her lifetime.
This question points to another oversight, as a writer who seems self-aware yet continually contradicts herself, maybe she has a reason for her inconsistencies? What would be her reason for this ambiguity? Individuals change over time; and too, their opinions may change based on situational reasons, more information, or even whim. Anyone who has written privately in a journal knows that the explorations there are frequently transitory insights that are revised or re-understood at a later time, especially when subjects are revisited over many years. Kincaid’s work has to be viewed within a cultural framework that accounts for her individuality. Kincaid writes public journals that play with the tropes of autobiography but always feel as if they might be revised again.
Reflecting back to Kincaid´s comment that her mother should not have had children, would not circumstances create a powerful woman such as Annie Drew who pushes forward even as she makes mistakes? Consider the chapter, “Girl” in At the Bottom of the River, where the mother continually tells the daughter that she will become a “slut”. Some Caribbean students have responded that the mother is worried about the daughter and wants to protect her from what has happened to so many others. It is not rare within the Caribbean for a parent to use negative/harsh criticism in order to express concern for the child’s safety or to prevent mistakes. What is seen as a cruel comment by Bouson, should be placed in the Caribbean context.
Kincaid said in an interview that she stopped criticizing her mother because her mother did not have the public access to respond in a fair way. Kincaid has been able to write personally and provide her own perceptions whereas those within her family cannot publicly respond. Kincaid reveals in this interview that she is carrying on an argument, like a public street fight, but she realizes the other side cannot be heard. Anne Drew is verbally gifted. Kincaid writes about her mother´s talent in her collection of essays, In a Small Place; it is a sense of fair play that later constrains Kincaid. She knows that her mother`s gift for public rebuttal is unavailable.
If the reader were to set aside everything outside of the text, author biography and personality and just look at the written words alone, would this be a fair reading of Kincaid? The author, Margaret Atwood writes that since the author’s life factors are always changing and flexible, the only reliable understanding of the work is found within the work itself, i.e. the only truth to be found is within the text. This disconnected approach cannot be applied to Kincaid’s writing because she repeatedly references the author and her biography. Sometimes Kincaid uses accurate names, or changes them slightly. She also elaborates on events that occur from one work to another, only shifting the emotional tone or casting the events in a different light. Additionally, when Kincaid writes, there is a Caribbean audience whose presence hovers within the text even while she seems to address a western (or American) audience. This presence makes it difficult to isolate the work outside of multiple contexts. The reader of Kincaid becomes obsessed with the author’s biography, what is a factually true statement verses an emotionally true one? What is in fact a lie? Kincaid writes to this reader by relentlessly pointing to her biography.
In Walking in the Himalayas, Kincaid writes that she is obsessing about her son, Harold; she is excessively fearful of his well being, though he has stayed home in Vermont and she is the one traveling. She has encountered threatening military Maoist and has more than once felt threatened. Nevertheless, she worries like an over protective mother. She continually writes about her motherly anxiety but her fear for her son seems to be out of place. After all, he is in a much safer environment than Kincaid. Her concern comes across as somewhat forced or put on. In this same context, Kincaid is troubled over calling herself Canadian, in order to hide from the angry militants, but she writes that she “would never call herself or think to call herself anything other than American” and later she writes that she could only be called “Antiguan now living in Vermont.” All of her contradictions are related to a kind of identity movement that can only be securely grounded in Antigua.
What are the reasons for her changes? In My Brother she reverts to her own family as a healthy new space/place for herself but her old role as daughter and sister does show a shift towards peace making. When Kincaid visits her home with her children, she encourages their relationship with her mother even though Kincaid points out that there is a competitive feeling between them. Her mother continually tries to obtain confirmation that her grandchildren like her better than their mother. When the grandmother believes that they like her better, she celebrates but Kincaid just accepts that this is a quality of her mother’s love. She also makes a genuine attempt to know her youngest brother who later dies of AIDS despite her active involvement in obtaining treatment and drugs for him from the United States. When she returns to the states, she continually refers to her Vermont home as the perfect place and her ideal role within her family. She never mentions that her husband can never travel with her to Antigua because of his agoraphobia or any other domestic points where problems in her paradise might exist. So much so that many are surprised when they find out that she is divorced. These inconsistencies create questions about what is hidden and what is revealed by Kincaid creating a wary atmosphere when reading her work.
Two theoretical/critical approaches are particularly relevant when considering Kincaid’s autobiography and her writing focus; these are the Feminist Standpoint Theory and the individualist’s perspective. Both approaches point to the question, who does Kincaid represent? Does she speak for a community?
One aspect of Kincaid’s identity formation has to do with her shifting sometimes called fluid subject position. Nevertheless, she has been latched onto by various groups who claim her as their own, African American scholars and American feminists, for example. Kincaid is classified by publishers as African American but Kincaid does not actually embrace the classification. Nevertheless, she often is an invited speaker to activities that celebrate African American contributions to literature. She has been both embraced and rejected by feminists but claims that she does not want to box her creative self into a particular perspective. Is Kincaid a feminist? This is too broad of a question and it makes more sense to focus on to one approach, such as Feminist Standpoint Theory as understood by Nancy Harcourt. (Her input to this question is particularly valuable because she also writes about autobiography and subject positions.) Does Jamaica Kincaid have a standpoint? Does she have a position to argue from? Clearly it is difficult to place her without a through analysis of her written texts and her interviews.
Does being flexible mean that there is no standpoint? Brooke Lenz argues that Kincaid’s multiple standpoints offer a way to more accurately understand her experience of being a woman and the power dynamic that characterizes the role of a post-colonial subject. Kincaid refuses to be boxed into a pre-constructed identity because she wants to maintain her freedom and nurture her creativity. The resultant oxymoronic identity construction is highly individualized. An example of a competent woman falling into non-feminists discourse is found in My Garden Book. Kincaid points out that she cannot handle money. She writes that her husband will not allow her to write checks because she does not keep track of the accounts. Her husband has to pay all the bills. Feminist scholars who want to claim Kincaid as their spokesperson or a role model, must revolt at her reference of the gender biased script of the woman who cannot handle money. Kincaid’s love of all things domestic [her own words] might also rankle, even though the concept of domestic space has a more complicated meaning related to a power base and as validation in African American and Caribbean writing and living.
Returning to Standpoint Theory, Lenz interrogates Lucy by referring to classic literary frames such as identity and point of view in order to question if Lucy has a standpoint -or rather to show how Lucy arrives at a standpoint by reflecting on the processes she undergoes while adjusting to an alien country, the United States. It is important to consider that Standpoint Theory has most often been used within the field of the social sciences and applied to identity and social behavior. Kincaid’s work can be more easily connected to social science analysis because it is autobiographically based; it is uniquely situated.
As to Kincaid’s standpoint, can she be a feminist if she does not claim it is so? Even without the term feminist, it is clear that Kincaid`s characters Annie in Annie John and Lucy in Lucy were both rebellious because of an unequal difference in how the genders are treated. Annie John spoke of her change in relation with her mother after her brothers were born; Lucy, too, mentions the obstacle of her brother’s birth to her education, both character’s mention that the reason they left Antigua was to earn money to send home. Kincaid confirms that her mother did intend for her to send money home to help support the family but she decided to break from the family and cultural expectation of self-sacrifice. The entire concept of privileging males over females as it relates to education and expectation is addressed frequently in most of Kincaid’s books. For example, Lucy confronts the double standard related to sexual freedom and becomes empowered through enjoying sexuality without commitment and without love. Annie rebels when her brothers are born and a new set of expectations for her behavior are insisted upon.
These two core threads connected to the feminist movement; i.e., the imbalance of power through unequal treatment of the genders, specifically the preference of sons over daughters, and through the double-standard regarding sexual freedom, fit in with most definitions of a feminist. Kincaid’s reason for resisting labels is well documented but they primarily focus on the constraint that those labels might place on her writing. There is tension between an author’s freedom to create and producing work that is marketable. Kincaid’s resistance to the feminist identification while calling attention to well known feminist’s concerns is likely her way of negotiating a creative space for her individuality while gesturing toward the concerns of a particular identifiable group.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Identity Issues; Selected Quotes
1 When we remember remembering, [it] is already autobiography in the making. And this making, this mapping of our lives in time, I like to think helps us to keep track of who we are.
Paul John Eakin (170)
2 Belief in individualism, which seems to authorize our confidence in our freedom to think, to act, to be what we want, to say who we are, needs to be measured against the constraints of culture that condition or otherwise set our possibilities. (103)
3 The Internet and the World Wide Web are creating radically new opportunities for self-presentation, and perhaps, some observe then, new modes of selfhood as well. Jefferey Wallen's investigation of online journals or weblogs, for example, lead him to speculate that 'the contemporary 'self ' is in important ways discontinuous with what existed at earlier times." His findings parallel those of the French autobiography critic Philippe Lejeune, whom he quotes as follows; "The self [moi] is not an atemporal essence altered today by disastrous technical progress,...it has always been shaped by the evolution of medias" (Lejeune, Cher ecran 240).
4 Blogs, online journals, home page, photo album video clip /Facebook/MySpace
87% 12-17 year olds have uploaded into these Internet systems. (95)
5 Predictably, the social world of cyberspace seems to have developed its own version of the rule-governed narrative identity system [described in chapter 1]. (95)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Truth About Lying
When is it okay to lie? In autobiography and memoir, there has to be some fictional creation to fill in for memory lapse, some omission to smooth out the story, some changing of detail to protect privacy...but when is enough enough? Looking at all the fact checking that Jamaica Kincaid has undergone, all the interview questions about her fiction being autobiography and her autobiography really being fiction, the significance of this question is readily apparent. It's significance is not lost on Kincaid because she intentionally draws the readers attention to facts and muddied truth. What is it about her that makes the reader give her permission to alter the truth or pretend the fiction is not truth? Kincaid is portrayed as a young woman who has grown up in a country that had very little resources; this idea of a success story is appealing to an American reading audience; it's the rags to riches story-even if the riches are moderate. It's the proof that with wit and will, you can overcome obstacles in life. Kincaid carries with her this embodiment of the success story, even as she resist it. She criticizes the United States but characterizes the United Kingdom as comparatively worse. One reason is that in the US you are allowed to reinvent yourself whereas in the UK you always must deal with the limiting pressures of class. Kincaid refers to the UK as "the old suitcase" meaning that nothing fresh or possible can happen there, change is slow. Also. Kincaid has stated that its acceptable to criticize the United States within the country because there is a tradition of self[-examination there. Further, Kincaid fits within the model of one who has a right to confront colonial systems and the historical aftershocks because she grew up under a British colonial education system,which makes her a suitable spokesperson within the genre. Her biographical facts lend credibility to -her tactics, the reader questions her purpose for self-reference? Carte blanc permission is given to change the details, shift the names, invent facts because: She must have a reason for the disparities in her facts. She's confusing on purpose. What is her purpose?
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Narrative and Identity
Seriously, what a topic! The author, Paul John Eakin, approaches the study of autobiography in his new book, Living Autobiographically; How we Create Identity in Narrative with the following four chapters: (1) Talking about Ourselves: the Rules of the Game (2) Autobiographical Consciousness: Body, Brain, Self, and Narrative (3) Identity Work: People Making Stories and (4) Living Autobiographically.
For now, I will select material that focuses on a general question:
Who writes what..and what can be written? Later (or soon?---sooner or later!) I will address how these questions impact the reader of Jamaica Kincaid and the writer herself. On a personal level, these questions impact me as I write an autobiographically driven blog so I think about them every day.
I'm interested in autobiographical writers and the writing of autobiography because the genre places great decision making pressure on the author beginning with the question, who should write an autobiography or memoir? Once someone, the new author or the seasoned author, begins the process of writing, a slew of questions come up. What can I say? Who will be offended by this story? What should I cut or add for narrative flow, aesthetic, and literary reasons? And the most pressing question, what should I hide for privacy reasons?
Eakin begins with the idea that we talk about ourselves everyday, that we create stories in our minds even if we don't share them with others.
Two ways of looking at identity, episodic and continuous, are pointed to as in conflict with each other. Later, it seems to decide that both are really present...though he favors continuous.
What does that mean? When a person's identity is episodic, they are able to have a fresh start new identity without reference to the past...where she came from, who her parents were, ...the starting event can occur whenever...Eaken writes about a medically disabled person, who has to decide who he is every day. He can't remember the past and so is stuck in a cycle of self story creation. (Sounds like 50 First Dates, the movie) And too, he mentions a person who (Episcopalian) who choses to be new through spirit, I suppose. A continuous identity begins from the past and changes/shifts from that reference point. Reading about this makes me think about how these two ways of framing identity are implicated in notions of re-making identity through narrative.
Jamaica Kincaid changed her name and her vision of who she was in the world by moving from her home, observing how people live, writing about her insights and providing wittily bold opinions. Nonetheless, she continued to mark the place of her birth and circumstances as the genesis of who she became. She remade herself but in a continuous manner...however, that story of beginning in Antigua was contained by the narrative...in actual life, she stopped communicating with her mother for 20 years...she didn't send back money as was expected. She had a sense that her connection would bring her down or back to who she was and that was too psychologically dangerous. She has stated in her interview (insert) that she stopped communication with her family, and in Lucy she writes about the girl who won't read her family letters and will not write back. I think that narrative, the story about our lives, is continuous but in working out a new identity sometimes the past must be contained. People do this by lying about where they came from and about what happened as they were growing up. Even in their new recreated identity, they may have to lie to maintain who they currently are and even what they do.
Interestingly, Eaken puts forth the idea that there are rules that constrain the narrative and hold it to an idea of objective truth. I think Kincaid felt that her family would not support the reinvention of herself...and the stories she told in the form of writing and speech (interviews) helped her to figure out who she was and how she came to be. They also created space from that time when she lived in Antigua to the time she became her new self in the eastern United States. This containment strategy has an element of the episodic, Old Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson/New Jamaica Kincaid, and also includes continuous identity formation because her starting point is frequently referenced. The reader never forgets where Kincaid was raised and her difficult circumstances. Who Kincaid became is based a beginning subsequent events.
Who does the policing for truth in memoir...who gives permission to invent and where is the objectively verifiable truth line drawn....how much can be created by making the memoir, filling in the dialogue when Kincaid was four in Mr. Potter: the event of seeing her biological father is repeated and detailed even though it is unlikely that she could remember it to that extent. One reviewer was critical of this detail. His unbelief in the memory for Kincaid's detail and its significance to her is part of an attempt to police. Foucault refers to those who police institutions but Eaken mentions society as the controlling force. (check) I think this example supports the notion of society policing and also shows how it can be done to an author through a book review.
Eakin, Paul John. Living Autobiographically in Narrative Identity. Ithaca, NY; Cornell University Press 2008.
For now, I will select material that focuses on a general question:
Who writes what..and what can be written? Later (or soon?---sooner or later!) I will address how these questions impact the reader of Jamaica Kincaid and the writer herself. On a personal level, these questions impact me as I write an autobiographically driven blog so I think about them every day.
I'm interested in autobiographical writers and the writing of autobiography because the genre places great decision making pressure on the author beginning with the question, who should write an autobiography or memoir? Once someone, the new author or the seasoned author, begins the process of writing, a slew of questions come up. What can I say? Who will be offended by this story? What should I cut or add for narrative flow, aesthetic, and literary reasons? And the most pressing question, what should I hide for privacy reasons?
Eakin begins with the idea that we talk about ourselves everyday, that we create stories in our minds even if we don't share them with others.
Two ways of looking at identity, episodic and continuous, are pointed to as in conflict with each other. Later, it seems to decide that both are really present...though he favors continuous.
What does that mean? When a person's identity is episodic, they are able to have a fresh start new identity without reference to the past...where she came from, who her parents were, ...the starting event can occur whenever...Eaken writes about a medically disabled person, who has to decide who he is every day. He can't remember the past and so is stuck in a cycle of self story creation. (Sounds like 50 First Dates, the movie) And too, he mentions a person who (Episcopalian) who choses to be new through spirit, I suppose. A continuous identity begins from the past and changes/shifts from that reference point. Reading about this makes me think about how these two ways of framing identity are implicated in notions of re-making identity through narrative.
Jamaica Kincaid changed her name and her vision of who she was in the world by moving from her home, observing how people live, writing about her insights and providing wittily bold opinions. Nonetheless, she continued to mark the place of her birth and circumstances as the genesis of who she became. She remade herself but in a continuous manner...however, that story of beginning in Antigua was contained by the narrative...in actual life, she stopped communicating with her mother for 20 years...she didn't send back money as was expected. She had a sense that her connection would bring her down or back to who she was and that was too psychologically dangerous. She has stated in her interview (insert) that she stopped communication with her family, and in Lucy she writes about the girl who won't read her family letters and will not write back. I think that narrative, the story about our lives, is continuous but in working out a new identity sometimes the past must be contained. People do this by lying about where they came from and about what happened as they were growing up. Even in their new recreated identity, they may have to lie to maintain who they currently are and even what they do.
Interestingly, Eaken puts forth the idea that there are rules that constrain the narrative and hold it to an idea of objective truth. I think Kincaid felt that her family would not support the reinvention of herself...and the stories she told in the form of writing and speech (interviews) helped her to figure out who she was and how she came to be. They also created space from that time when she lived in Antigua to the time she became her new self in the eastern United States. This containment strategy has an element of the episodic, Old Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson/New Jamaica Kincaid, and also includes continuous identity formation because her starting point is frequently referenced. The reader never forgets where Kincaid was raised and her difficult circumstances. Who Kincaid became is based a beginning subsequent events.
Who does the policing for truth in memoir...who gives permission to invent and where is the objectively verifiable truth line drawn....how much can be created by making the memoir, filling in the dialogue when Kincaid was four in Mr. Potter: the event of seeing her biological father is repeated and detailed even though it is unlikely that she could remember it to that extent. One reviewer was critical of this detail. His unbelief in the memory for Kincaid's detail and its significance to her is part of an attempt to police. Foucault refers to those who police institutions but Eaken mentions society as the controlling force. (check) I think this example supports the notion of society policing and also shows how it can be done to an author through a book review.
Eakin, Paul John. Living Autobiographically in Narrative Identity. Ithaca, NY; Cornell University Press 2008.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
What do we think about ourselves?
I was looking at this link about writing autobiography. http://www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/bhs/bryan/bryan_auto.html It's a basic level class writing assignment; I thought it revealed some of the underlying assumptions that we have about autobiography. It is organized by a series of questions such as who you are in life and what does life mean to you? What is your outlook on the future? The introduction is grounded in basic facts about your life and the conclusion comes back to this data. It cites Augustine as the first autobiographer dating from around 400AD. This orientation is what most readers expect when they read an autobiography; but it significantly differs from many autobiographies, particularly Jamaica Kincaid.
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