Morris, Mervyn (1 August 2006). "Louise Bennett-Coverley". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 November 2015. Bennett identifies herself as a writer when she’s writing, and resists the label at other times; she is wary of the “they” that seems to crop up repeatedly in contemporary discourse, and alive to the idea that language itself has been shaped by the dominant classes throughout history, with particularly scorching effects for the working class and for women. Asked recently to write about a book that changed her life she says she realised that Marx and Engels’ The German Ideology, which she studied at A-level, had had a profound effect. “After that, I just thought: ‘Oh, my God, everything’s just made up. And it’s made up by the ruling class, and there isn’t such a thing as reality. It’s all just ideology, and it’s there to suit them, and we’re all a load of plebs. And I’m not. And they can shove it!’” Claire-Louise Bennett’s highly acclaimed debut, initially published in Ireland earlier this year, is a collection of 20 stories – the shortest of which runs to a couple of sentences. They are all told, it seems, by the same female character, whose semi-reclusive existence the tales revolve around. Reading them is an immersive experience. We come to share the “savage swarming magic” the narrator feels under her skin by focusing at length on her “mind in motion” (the only exception being the final story, told in the third person). For all this propinquity, we would be hard-pressed to recognise her, should she suddenly emerge from her rural retreat. One of the most striking aspects of this extraordinary book is how well we get to know the narrator – whose brain and body we inhabit – yet how little we know about her. We don’t even learn her name. a b Infantry, Ashante (3 February 1996). "Jamaican 'royal' reigns here by fostering joy of language Island's 'cultural ambassador' to be honored for 60 years of work in arts". Toronto Star.

book to shake the world anew’ Sebastian Barry Checkout 19: ‘A book to shake the world anew’ Sebastian Barry

There were 7 chapters to this book. I don’t know if some of it was about the author’s life or not. It certainly seemed like that to me...but that’s not super-important. The chapters were interconnected but there was not a clear flow to it. The writing is very much more people and relationship based than “Pond” (which set out to deliberately reject what Calvino called “anthropocentric parochialism”) but shares much of its emphasis on patterns, connections, impressions as well as ultimately on solitude, the individual and the outsider.a b "Louise Bennett, Queen of Jamaican Culture". Archives & Research Collections. McMaster University Library. 2011. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016 . Retrieved 1 May 2016. Towards the novel’s close, a deep friendship is ruptured by a double dose of trauma, gesturing to the pitfalls of confusing life and literature. Even so, its most vital relationships remain those between its narrator and the volumes that pile up around her.

Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett – a life in books Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett – a life in books

Writer of prose and poetry in Jamaican Dialect, for Sunday Gleaner and other local newspapers and magazines.

Her choice of epigraphs was on point, I’ll give her that. As were her literary references. I also appreciated the hints of humor in chapter 2. The teller of Anancy stories must be able to impersonate all the characters – and this Louise Bennett does quite brilliantly. At one stage in this book the narrator talks about her Swindon upbringing and the Yorkshire upbringing of her once boyfriend and how both were from areas where a relatively conventional life (job in a family trade, marriage, starter home, children, bigger home, annual holiday abroad) is the convention and expectation and yet “we couldn’t say why exactly but neither me nor Dale were cut out for that …………. the encroaching inevitability of that life path had been a source of anxiety to us”. The path the narrator instead follows seems though rather ambiguous and undefined – a yet unfulfilled but not unfulfilling search for a “different turn”, which is sometimes progressing but at other times frustrating. Jamaica's culture and dialect were woven into Louise’s artistic craft. She wrote numerous books and poetry in Jamaican Patois, a language which has become symbolic of Jamaica’s vibrant culture. It is spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. Indeed, Louise was influential in championing Jamaican Patois as an artistic medium. This book is a series of seven (partly auto-fictional?) first person chapters (essays?) - the first written in a plural “we”.

Hon. Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley (1919 – 2006) - The Rt. Hon. Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley (1919 – 2006) - The

Louise’s comment on the undeveloped art of the West Indies reflects the bias towards Western art and artists, and what is perceived to be ‘undeveloped art’. Although these are Louise’s own words, she would have been expressing views that the British Council wanted to hear as a way of strengthening her case to extend her studies. Dr. Basil Bryan, Consul General of Jamaica, praised Bennett as an inspiration to Jamaicans as she "proudly presented the Jamaican language and culture to a wider world and today we are the beneficiaries of that audacity." [19] She was acclaimed by many for her success in establishing the validity of local languages for literary expression. [3] An important aspect of her writing was its setting in public spaces such as trams, schools and churches allowing readers to see themselves, pre- and post-independence, reflected in her work. [20] Her writing has also been credited with providing a unique perspective on the everyday social experiences of working-class women in a postcolonial landscape. [21] a b Wong, D. (14 February 2011). "A treasure trove from Miss Lou". Hamilton Spectator . Retrieved 28 November 2015. Louise Bennett Exchange Fellowship in Caribbean Literary Studies University of Toronto – University of West Indies". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 . Retrieved 1 May 2016.There came a point I don’t know when exactly when I’d read enough books by men for the time being. It happened quite naturally–I don’t recall deciding I’d had enough and wasn’t going to read any more books by men for a while, it was just that I began reading more and more books by women and that didn’t leave me much time anymore to read any books by men.

Louise Bennett review – a stunning debut Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett review – a stunning debut

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, but make it a feminist rendition with a female protagonist: In this Künstler- and Bildungsroman, an unnamed narrator ponders her development as a reader and a writer in an experimental style. She grows up in a working-class family in South West England, then moves to Ireland (like the author), always accompanied by the stories she constantly ingests. Yes, this is a book about the love of storytelling, but not in a moralistic, reading-is-good-for-you kind of way: Here, literature is an obsession, both a force of connection and separation.

At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), life at Newcastle changed a little. The British regiment was replaced by Canadian regiments which remained at Newcastle for the duration of the war. With hostilities over in 1945, the Canadians left and once again a British battalion was stationed there.