TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: ART AND LITERATURE

These islands serve as a wonderful backdrop for artists to capture its beauty in their own ways. Europeans brought over their painting techniques and introduced them to the people who were living there (or brought there in many cases). While it’s understandable that landscapes are a common theme, some artists also venture in the abstract and other avant-garde artistic styles. (I suppose there’s something for everyone, huh?)

by Michel Jean Cazabon

Art exhibitions take place in galleries, museums, and other venues all over the islands. The Art Society holds an annual exhibition to showcase new works in all mediums and styles. The National Museum also holds some of the country’s and region’s best artwork.

Althea McNish with her textile art

One of the most well-known artists is Michel Jean Cazabon. His 19th-century watercolor paintings are part of a collection on display at the National Museum. Other famous artists include Dean Arlen (painter, sculptor, muralist), Patrick Warsing Chu Foon (abstract artist, sculptor), Althea McNish (printed textile art, brought Caribbean arts to the British public), Shastri Maharaj (painter, teacher, has a focus on Hindu art mixed with Carib art), and many others.

by Patrick Warsing Chu Foon

Literature in Trinidad and Tobago is quite diverse in its origins. Today, it’s written mainly in English and borrowed from the oral stories of Africans and indigenous people, folk tales and religious stories brought over from the Indian and Chinese workers, as well as European literary traditions that were introduced.

Jean-Baptiste Philippe was a medical doctor whose family came from Grenada. His 1824 pamphlet called Free Mulatto is considered the first literary work from Trinidad. It was one of the earliest works addressing the prejudice and disenfranchisement of free mulattos, particularly in the Caribbean. However, the first Trinidadian novel may be the 1854 work by Michel Maxwell Philip called Emmanuel Appadocca: A Tale of the Boucaneers. (It’s apparently available for the Kindle for only $6.17 and considered part of the public domain in the US).

V.S. Naipaul

These writers paved the way for other 20th century writers like V.S. Naipaul (also known as Vidia Naipaul, has won numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001), C.L.R. James (prominent post-colonialism writer, known for his socialist and communist viewpoints), and Derek Wolcott (who I mentioned earlier because he was born in St. Lucia, poet and playwright, also awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992). Other authors worth looking into include Michael Anthony (author, historian, professor of creative writing), Earl Lovelace (journalist, short story writer, playwright, author), and Lakshmi Persaud (she’s a short-story writer, professor, freelance journalist on socio-economic issues).

Up next: music and dance