Seepersad and sons : Naipaulian synergies /
Maharaj, Vijay J.,editor.
This book, based on a conference organized by Friends of Mr Biswas, explores the writing careers of Seepersad Naipaul and his two sons, Vidia and Shiva, within the supportive but sometimes painful closeness of family connections--synergies that V.S. Naipaul sometimes laboured to conceal, as the publishing history of his father's collection of short stories and Letters between a Father and Son both show. Essays by Brinsley Samaroo and Aaron Eastley focus on Seepersad Naipaul's importance as a journalist who revealed hidden areas in Trinidadian society, who boldly creolised reporting styles and showed his sons the possibilities of combining fiction and non-fiction. Arnold Rampersad, in his moving essay on his journalist father, Jerome, further makes the case for a tradition of Trinidadian newspaper writing that achieves literary quality. Some of the essays find new things to say about V.S. Naipaul:  Andre Bagoo writes on his fascination with gay sexuality and cinema; another essay deals with the themes of sadomasochism and incest. Robert Clarke provides a visual dimension to the book in a photo essay on the St James district of Port of Spain, which contains 26 Nepaul Street, the house for Mr Biswas, and J. Vijay Maharaj writes on the complementary art of Shastri Maharaj.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Acknowledgements -- Introduction: synergies everywhere / J. Vijay Maharaj -- Being and becoming a writer: family ambitions / Kenneth Ramchand -- Family love tested by artistic ambition / Bhoendradatt Tewarie -- Naipaul's letters between a father and son (and mother and sister) / Nicholas Laughlin -- Biswas before "Biswas": plotlines and perspectives form the Chaguanas correspondent / Aaron Eastley -- "In but not of the society": the crusading and critical eye of Seepersad Naipaul (1906-1953) / Brinsley Samaroo -- In Seepersad's "Guardian" circle: J.E. Rampersad and the making of "McGee" / Arnold Rampersad -- Our St James / Robert Clarke -- Strangers in the house: cinema, sexuality and politics in V.S. Naipaul's "Tell Me Who to Kill" / Andre Bagoo -- Shastri Maharaj: a grain of mustard / J. Vijay Maharaj -- Guerrillas and "buying horses" / Sharon Millar -- Beauty surrounds the darkness: novels that taught me how to see / Keith Jardim -- Prelude to a reading of an excerpt from "Here" / Raymond Ramcharitar -- Muddling the middle: cynical representations of ethnic relations in V.S. and Shiva Naipaul / Jim Hannan -- From tonka beans to magic seeds: V.S. Naipaul's late carer fiction of self-retrospect / Hywel Dix -- Constructions of masculinity in Vidia Naipaul's "A House for Mr Biswas" and Shiva Naipaul's "Fireflies" / Elizabeth Jackson -- Naipaulian mothers and motherlands / Paula Morgan -- Karma and the Naipaul brothers / Fariza Mohammed -- Sadomasochism, incest and power relations / Meghan Cleghorn -- Finding safe spaces / Varistha Persad -- From tramp to traveller: mirrors of immigrant experiences in "In a Free State" / Nivedita Misra -- Contributors' biographies -- Index.
This book, based on a conference organized by Friends of Mr Biswas, explores the writing careers of Seepersad Naipaul and his two sons, Vidia and Shiva, within the supportive but sometimes painful closeness of family connections--synergies that V.S. Naipaul sometimes laboured to conceal, as the publishing history of his father's collection of short stories and Letters between a Father and Son both show. Essays by Brinsley Samaroo and Aaron Eastley focus on Seepersad Naipaul's importance as a journalist who revealed hidden areas in Trinidadian society, who boldly creolised reporting styles and showed his sons the possibilities of combining fiction and non-fiction. Arnold Rampersad, in his moving essay on his journalist father, Jerome, further makes the case for a tradition of Trinidadian newspaper writing that achieves literary quality. Some of the essays find new things to say about V.S. Naipaul:  Andre Bagoo writes on his fascination with gay sexuality and cinema; another essay deals with the themes of sadomasochism and incest. Robert Clarke provides a visual dimension to the book in a photo essay on the St James district of Port of Spain, which contains 26 Nepaul Street, the house for Mr Biswas, and J. Vijay Maharaj writes on the complementary art of Shastri Maharaj.
Naipaul, Seepersad
Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), 1932-2018
Naipaul, Shiva, 1945-
Trinidadian and Tobagonian fiction (English)
Trinidadians.