The Austin Clarke Library

The Austin Clarke Library

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Dundurn

Published: 2015-08-22

Total Pages: 1568

ISBN-13: 1459734408

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Gathered together are three extraordinary books by renowned storyteller and memoirist Austin Clarke. ’Membering, Clarke’s breathtaking memoir, spans over fifty years of his life as a writer, chronicling his coming to Canada in the fifties, formative experiences with Malcolm X, Chinua Achebe, and LeRoi Jones, and bursting with cultural insights and poignant memories from a narrative master. In The Polished Hoe, winner of the Giller Prize and the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, when an elderly Bimshire village woman calls the police to confess to a murder, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the African diaspora in one epic sweep. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery. Choosing His Coffin is a selection of Clarke’s finest work from more than forty years of storytelling, drawing on his Caribbean roots and his years in Canada. These stories range in theme from growing up in West Indian society and what it means to be black in both the United States and Canada to surviving as an immigrant in a predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture.


Book Synopsis The Austin Clarke Library by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book The Austin Clarke Library written by Austin Clarke and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2015-08-22 with total page 1568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gathered together are three extraordinary books by renowned storyteller and memoirist Austin Clarke. ’Membering, Clarke’s breathtaking memoir, spans over fifty years of his life as a writer, chronicling his coming to Canada in the fifties, formative experiences with Malcolm X, Chinua Achebe, and LeRoi Jones, and bursting with cultural insights and poignant memories from a narrative master. In The Polished Hoe, winner of the Giller Prize and the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, when an elderly Bimshire village woman calls the police to confess to a murder, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the African diaspora in one epic sweep. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery. Choosing His Coffin is a selection of Clarke’s finest work from more than forty years of storytelling, drawing on his Caribbean roots and his years in Canada. These stories range in theme from growing up in West Indian society and what it means to be black in both the United States and Canada to surviving as an immigrant in a predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture.


The Polished Hoe

The Polished Hoe

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Dundurn.com

Published: 2003-09-03

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 088762815X

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Winner of the 2002 Scotiabank Giller Prize and of the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize: Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean) When an elderly Bimshire village woman calls the police to confess to a murder, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the African diaspora in one epic sweep. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery. As the novel opens, Mary Mathilda is giving confession to Sargeant, a police officer she has known all her life. The man she claims to have murdered is Mr. Belfeels, the village plantation owner for whom she has worked for more than thirty years. Mary has also been Mr. Belfeels’ mistress for most of that time and is the mother of his only son, Wilberforce, a successful doctor. What transpires through Mary’s words and recollections is a deep meditation about the power of memory and the indomitable strength of the human spirit. Infused with Joycean overtones, this is a literary masterpiece that evokes the sensuality of the tropics and the tragic richness of Island culture.


Book Synopsis The Polished Hoe by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book The Polished Hoe written by Austin Clarke and published by Dundurn.com. This book was released on 2003-09-03 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2002 Scotiabank Giller Prize and of the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize: Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean) When an elderly Bimshire village woman calls the police to confess to a murder, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the African diaspora in one epic sweep. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery. As the novel opens, Mary Mathilda is giving confession to Sargeant, a police officer she has known all her life. The man she claims to have murdered is Mr. Belfeels, the village plantation owner for whom she has worked for more than thirty years. Mary has also been Mr. Belfeels’ mistress for most of that time and is the mother of his only son, Wilberforce, a successful doctor. What transpires through Mary’s words and recollections is a deep meditation about the power of memory and the indomitable strength of the human spirit. Infused with Joycean overtones, this is a literary masterpiece that evokes the sensuality of the tropics and the tragic richness of Island culture.


Choosing His Coffin

Choosing His Coffin

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Dundurn.com

Published: 2003-03-04

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1771020415

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From the author of the Giller Award - winning novel The Polished Hoe comes a new collection of 20 of his best short stories. Choosing His Coffin is a selection of Austin Clarke’s finest work from more than 40 years of storytelling, drawing on his Caribbean roots and his years in Canada. These stories range in theme from growing up in West Indian society and what it means to be black in both the United States and Canada to surviving as an immigrant in a predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture. Clarke has become one of the most respected authors in North America and is one of Canada’s national literary treasures. He is a master of fictional invention.


Book Synopsis Choosing His Coffin by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book Choosing His Coffin written by Austin Clarke and published by Dundurn.com. This book was released on 2003-03-04 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the Giller Award - winning novel The Polished Hoe comes a new collection of 20 of his best short stories. Choosing His Coffin is a selection of Austin Clarke’s finest work from more than 40 years of storytelling, drawing on his Caribbean roots and his years in Canada. These stories range in theme from growing up in West Indian society and what it means to be black in both the United States and Canada to surviving as an immigrant in a predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture. Clarke has become one of the most respected authors in North America and is one of Canada’s national literary treasures. He is a master of fictional invention.


Storm of Fortune

Storm of Fortune

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Published: 2012-08-07

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 0307364259

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This is the second book in Austin Clarke’s groundbreaking Toronto Trilogy about the lives of black people in Canada. In Storm of Fortune, Clarke brings us into a circle of West Indian domestics—their friends, lovers, spouses, and employers—living in Toronto in the late 1950s. In lush, invigorating prose, Clarke illuminates the world of Bernice Leach—a world inhabited by earthy, garrulous, but terribly isolated people, all living, working, and struggling within an alien, white, Canadian culture. He brilliantly articulates the unsettled attitudes of his characters towards themselves, their community, and their fellow immigrants, exploring questions of status and social mobility. In turn, he unites these themes into a devastating commentary on the quest for success in North America. Dominated by warm, superbly drawn characters and pulsing with the nation language of Clarke’s characters’ speech, Storm of Fortune is a window into one of the most dynamic periods of Canadian history—one that has brought so much to bear on our present.


Book Synopsis Storm of Fortune by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book Storm of Fortune written by Austin Clarke and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2012-08-07 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second book in Austin Clarke’s groundbreaking Toronto Trilogy about the lives of black people in Canada. In Storm of Fortune, Clarke brings us into a circle of West Indian domestics—their friends, lovers, spouses, and employers—living in Toronto in the late 1950s. In lush, invigorating prose, Clarke illuminates the world of Bernice Leach—a world inhabited by earthy, garrulous, but terribly isolated people, all living, working, and struggling within an alien, white, Canadian culture. He brilliantly articulates the unsettled attitudes of his characters towards themselves, their community, and their fellow immigrants, exploring questions of status and social mobility. In turn, he unites these themes into a devastating commentary on the quest for success in North America. Dominated by warm, superbly drawn characters and pulsing with the nation language of Clarke’s characters’ speech, Storm of Fortune is a window into one of the most dynamic periods of Canadian history—one that has brought so much to bear on our present.


The Austin Clarke Collection

The Austin Clarke Collection

Author: Charlotte Stewart

Publisher:

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Austin Clarke Collection by : Charlotte Stewart

Download or read book The Austin Clarke Collection written by Charlotte Stewart and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack

Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Ian Randle Publishers

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 9766371083

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An autobiographical account of growing up in colonial Barbados during and after the Second World War.


Book Synopsis Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack written by Austin Clarke and published by Ian Randle Publishers. This book was released on 2003 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An autobiographical account of growing up in colonial Barbados during and after the Second World War.


The Vengeance of Fionn

The Vengeance of Fionn

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher:

Published: 1917

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Vengeance of Fionn by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book The Vengeance of Fionn written by Austin Clarke and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


'Membering Austin Clarke

'Membering Austin Clarke

Author: Paul Barrett

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published: 2020-11-24

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1771124784

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'Membering Austin Clarke reflects on the life and writing of Austin Clarke, whose depictions of Black life in Canada enlarged our understanding of what Canadian literature looks like. Despite being one of Canada's most widely published, and most richly awarded writers, Austin Clarke (1934–2016) is not a household name. This collection addresses Clarke's marginalization in Canadian literature by demonstrating that his writing on Black diasporic life and the immigrant experience is a foundational, if untold, part of the story of CanLit. Novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist, Clarke was born in Barbados, moved to Canada in 1955 and went on to establish Black Studies programs at a number of universities in America. He returned to Canada and became one of Canadian literature’s most prolific authors and a public voice for Black people in Canada. Among his best-known works are the Giller Award–winning The Polished Hoe (2002) and his memoir ‘Membering (2015). This collection of essays from colleagues, scholars, friends, and fellow writers addresses Clarke's work in all its richness and complexity in order to understand how Clarke's legacy continues to transform Canadian writing. It includes previously unpublished poems and short stories from Clarke's archives as well as personal reflections from friends, histories of the publication of his works, essays, interviews, and short stories and poems inspired by Clarke.


Book Synopsis 'Membering Austin Clarke by : Paul Barrett

Download or read book 'Membering Austin Clarke written by Paul Barrett and published by Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Membering Austin Clarke reflects on the life and writing of Austin Clarke, whose depictions of Black life in Canada enlarged our understanding of what Canadian literature looks like. Despite being one of Canada's most widely published, and most richly awarded writers, Austin Clarke (1934–2016) is not a household name. This collection addresses Clarke's marginalization in Canadian literature by demonstrating that his writing on Black diasporic life and the immigrant experience is a foundational, if untold, part of the story of CanLit. Novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist, Clarke was born in Barbados, moved to Canada in 1955 and went on to establish Black Studies programs at a number of universities in America. He returned to Canada and became one of Canadian literature’s most prolific authors and a public voice for Black people in Canada. Among his best-known works are the Giller Award–winning The Polished Hoe (2002) and his memoir ‘Membering (2015). This collection of essays from colleagues, scholars, friends, and fellow writers addresses Clarke's work in all its richness and complexity in order to understand how Clarke's legacy continues to transform Canadian writing. It includes previously unpublished poems and short stories from Clarke's archives as well as personal reflections from friends, histories of the publication of his works, essays, interviews, and short stories and poems inspired by Clarke.


More

More

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-09-15

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0061772402

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At the news of her son BJ's involvement in gang crime, Idora Morrison, a maid at the local university, collapses in her basement apartment. For four days and nights she retreats into a vortex of memory, pain, and disappointment that becomes a riveting exposÉ of her life as a Caribbean immigrant living abroad. While she struggled to make ends meet, her deadbeat husband, Bertram, abandoned her for a better life in New York. Left alone to raise her son, Idora has done her best to survive against immense odds. But now that BJ has disappeared into a life of crime, she recoils from his loss and is unable to get out of bed, burdened by feelings of invisibility. As she summons the strength to investigate her son's troubles—and her own weaknesses—the book quietly builds to its crescendo. Eventually Idora finds her way back into the light with a courage that is both remarkable and unforgettable. More zeroes in, with laserlike intensity, on the interior life of an extraordinary "ordinary woman," showcasing Clarke's skill as a writer of inimitable force.


Book Synopsis More by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book More written by Austin Clarke and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-09-15 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the news of her son BJ's involvement in gang crime, Idora Morrison, a maid at the local university, collapses in her basement apartment. For four days and nights she retreats into a vortex of memory, pain, and disappointment that becomes a riveting exposÉ of her life as a Caribbean immigrant living abroad. While she struggled to make ends meet, her deadbeat husband, Bertram, abandoned her for a better life in New York. Left alone to raise her son, Idora has done her best to survive against immense odds. But now that BJ has disappeared into a life of crime, she recoils from his loss and is unable to get out of bed, burdened by feelings of invisibility. As she summons the strength to investigate her son's troubles—and her own weaknesses—the book quietly builds to its crescendo. Eventually Idora finds her way back into the light with a courage that is both remarkable and unforgettable. More zeroes in, with laserlike intensity, on the interior life of an extraordinary "ordinary woman," showcasing Clarke's skill as a writer of inimitable force.


Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit - Anniversary Edition

Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit - Anniversary Edition

Author: Austin Clarke

Publisher: Ian Randle Publishers

Published: 2014-07-02

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9789766378820

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Growing up in Barbados, Austin Clarke was surrounded by women in the kitchen. Enveloped in the heavenly smells and smoke of their cooking, he listened to their talk about the food they were preparing. His mother; several aunts and numerous cousins always recited the steps they were taking as they cooked, and through them, he learned how to cook the traditional dishes of Barbados - food that has its origins in the days of slavery, of hardships and economic grief, when 'ingreasements' (ingredients) were scarce. The food was not just intended to 'full a hole in your stomach', according to Austin's mother, but to make you 'feel good', 'grow into a strong man' and give you 'big-big brains'. In Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit, Austin Clarke shares his favourite recipes, including Smoked Ham Hocks with Lima Beans, Breadfruit Cou-Cou with Braising beef, Oxtails with Mushrooms, Pepperpot, and his renowned Chicken Austintacious. He reveals his method for choosing a 'nice piece o' pigtail from the brine barrel', demonstrates how to test an okra for freshness, outlines the essential characteristics of a real pork chop, and instructs us in the proper use of a cou-cou stick, that essential tool found in every Barbadian home. And all the while he reminisces about the food he ate as a boy and the rituals that went along with it. Whether it's a story about the village butcher whose qualifications were somewhat suspect, how to map a sure-fire route to a woman's heart through her stomach, or searching the streets of Durham, North Carolina, for fried chicken with Norman Mailer, Austin Clarke will make you hungry for 'hot cuisine' and the spirit of the island.


Book Synopsis Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit - Anniversary Edition by : Austin Clarke

Download or read book Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit - Anniversary Edition written by Austin Clarke and published by Ian Randle Publishers. This book was released on 2014-07-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up in Barbados, Austin Clarke was surrounded by women in the kitchen. Enveloped in the heavenly smells and smoke of their cooking, he listened to their talk about the food they were preparing. His mother; several aunts and numerous cousins always recited the steps they were taking as they cooked, and through them, he learned how to cook the traditional dishes of Barbados - food that has its origins in the days of slavery, of hardships and economic grief, when 'ingreasements' (ingredients) were scarce. The food was not just intended to 'full a hole in your stomach', according to Austin's mother, but to make you 'feel good', 'grow into a strong man' and give you 'big-big brains'. In Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit, Austin Clarke shares his favourite recipes, including Smoked Ham Hocks with Lima Beans, Breadfruit Cou-Cou with Braising beef, Oxtails with Mushrooms, Pepperpot, and his renowned Chicken Austintacious. He reveals his method for choosing a 'nice piece o' pigtail from the brine barrel', demonstrates how to test an okra for freshness, outlines the essential characteristics of a real pork chop, and instructs us in the proper use of a cou-cou stick, that essential tool found in every Barbadian home. And all the while he reminisces about the food he ate as a boy and the rituals that went along with it. Whether it's a story about the village butcher whose qualifications were somewhat suspect, how to map a sure-fire route to a woman's heart through her stomach, or searching the streets of Durham, North Carolina, for fried chicken with Norman Mailer, Austin Clarke will make you hungry for 'hot cuisine' and the spirit of the island.