November 2018


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The University of the West Indies has acquired the archives for fiction writer Lawrence Scott’s first novel Witchbroom. On November 15, the Library will be holding a special ceremony in its AV Room to mark the handover of Lawrence Scott’s Witchbroom archives as a symbolic acknowledgement of the importance of this literary material as a valuable resource for research.

The UWI continues to secure and treasure the heritage of the region through activities such as seeking out and expanding literary collections. The Alma Jordan Library has a rich store of archived literary papers of several significant Caribbean writers, helping to keep their legacy alive and accessible to all. The writers include names like Ian McDonald, Earl Lovelace, Eric Roach, CLR James, Samuel Selvon, Derek Walcott, Monique Roffey and Michael Anthony.

The Alma Jordon Library shared with UWI Today that “this acquisition is a coup for The UWI as many of our writers reside outside the region and are being asked to lodge their papers and manuscripts with institutions outside the region. We are honoured that Mr Scott, who resides in the UK, wishes to have his papers remain in the Caribbean.”

Lawrence Scott is a prize-winning author from T&T. His work has stimulated critical work into the post-colonial novel’s use of magic realism, carnival, calypso, her/history, storytelling, dialect/standard narratives, identity, landscape, the body, race, religion and homo/sexuality.

Scott was born in 1943 on a sugarcane estate at Petit Morne, Usine Sainte Madeleine, and educated at Boy’s RC School, San Fernando, and at The Abbey School, Mount Saint Benedict. He left T&T at 19 to go to England, where he studied Philosophy and Theology, and later, English Language and Literature. He worked as an English and Drama teacher for many years at schools in London and Trinidad, while working as a creative writer. His stories have been broadcast on BBC radio and have been anthologised internationally,

In 2012, he was awarded a Lifetime Literary award by the National Library of T&T for his significant contribution to the literature of T&T. His first novel Witchbroom (1992) marked its 25th anniversary of publication last year with a new edition. His second novel Aelred’s Sin (1998) received a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book in Canada and the Caribbean (1999) award. His most recent book is a collection of short stories entitled Leaving by Plane Swimming Back Underwater (2015). His other novels are: Light Falling on Bamboo (2012) and Night Calypso (2004).

For more information on Lawrence Scott, please visit his website: www.lawrencescott.co.uk.