This introduction to West Indian poetry is written for readers making their first approach to the poetry of the Caribbean written in English. It offers a comprehensive literary history from the 1920s to the 1980s, with particular attention to the relationship of West Indian poetry to European, African and American literature. Close readings of individual poems give detailed analysis of social and cultural issues at work in the writing. Laurence Breiner's exposition speaks powerfully about the defining forces in Caribbean culture from colonialism to resistance and decolonization.

Teaching Caribbean Poetry will inform and inspire readers with a love for, and understanding of, the dynamic world of Caribbean poetry. This unique volume sets out to enable secondary English teachers and their students to engage with a wide range of poetry, past and present; to understand how histories of the Caribbean underpin the poetry and relate to its interpretation; and to explore how Caribbean poetry connects with environmental issues. Written by literary experts with extensive classroom experience, this lively and accessible book is immersed in classroom practice, and examines: • popular aspects of Caribbean poetry, such as performance poetry; • different forms of Caribbean language; • the relationship between music and poetry; • new voices, as well as well-known and distinguished poets, including John Agard (winner of the Queen’s Medal for Poetry, 2012), Kamau Brathwaite, Lorna Goodison, Olive Senior and Derek Walcott; • the crucial themes within Caribbean poetry such as inequality, injustice, racism, ‘othering’, hybridity, diaspora and migration; • the place of Caribbean poetry on the GCSE/CSEC and CAPE syllabi, covering appropriate themes, poetic forms and poets for exam purposes. Throughout this absorbing book, the authors aim to combat the widespread ‘fear’ of teaching poetry, enabling teachers to teach it with confidence and enthusiasm and helping students to experience the rewards of listening to, reading, interpreting, performing and writing Caribbean poetry.

This collection is an invaluable academic selection and will provide a fine introduction for the general reader interested in the lyricism of Caribbean poetry.

This book presents a critical analysis of all of Roach's published poetry, but it presents that interpretation as part of a broader study of the relations between his poetic activity, the political events he experienced (especially West Indian Federation, Independence, the Black Power movement, the February Revolution of 1970 Trinidad), and the seminal debates about art and culture in which he participated.