Cultural Writing. African American Studies. Interviews. George Lamming received early encouragement from Frank Collymore, his teacher and mentor, and editor of the literary journal BIM. Lamming left Barbados for Trinidad in 1946, and went to England in 1950. He made his home in London for some twenty-five years, during which he published six novels and a highly influential collection of essays, THE PLEASURES OF EXILE (1960). "George Lamming, one of the Caribbean's finest intellects and foremost literary artists...summons us to the urgency of our obligations. The elegance of his utterance should not in any way detract from the gravity of the challenge...The Lamming monographs are themselves part of the current discourse which targets the historical, cultural and scientific implications of the pan-hemispheric encounters that will continue to be of global importance well into the twenty-first century"--Rex Nettleford, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of the West Indies.

Author City: PROVIDENCE, RI USA

George Lamming was born on June 8, 1927, in Carrington Village, Barbados. He was educated at Roebuck Boys School and the prestigious Combemere High School. He received early encouragement from Frank Collymore, his teacher and mentor, and editor of the literary journal, BIM. Lamming left Barbados for Trinidad in 1946, and went to England in 1950. He made his home in London for some twenty-five years. During this time he published six novels and a highly influential collection of essays, The Pleasures of Exile (1960). Lamming now makes his home in Barbados where he remains actively involved in the cultural life of the Caribbean. Awards and honors include a Guggenheim, the Sommerset Maugham Award, a Canadian Council Fellowship, a British Commonwealth Foundation grant, and a honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies and City University of New York.