Tag Archives: Claude McKay

The Cosmopolitan Vernacular

Posted on February 6, 2014 by wcd2

February 6, 2014 Not an oxymoron, but a genetic condition, as Sheldon Pollock argues, a local tongue globalized in its emergence and globalized again in its circulation. Is that why so many African-American authors began with dialect poetry? Not only … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Creole, Dialect, Indian Ocean, Vernacular | Tagged Amitav Ghosh, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Edwidge Danticat, Ezra Pound, Jamaica Kincaid, Langston Hughes, Lascars, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Pisan Cantos, Sea of Poppies, Sheldon Pollock | 1 Comment

Banjo: Pete Seeger, Claude McKay

Posted on January 29, 2014 by wcd2

January 29, 2014 Of course he played the guitar as well, maybe even primarily the guitar, but I’ll always think of him with a banjo, that humble instrument brought over by the slaves, its simple form cradled in his, looking … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Auditory field, Creole, Music | Tagged Claude McKay, Constab Ballads, Marseilles, Occupy Wall Street, Pete Seeger, Songs of Jamaica, Woody Guthrie | Leave a comment