Sam Selvon, a contemporary writer of major importance, is well known to British and Caribbean readers, but his work -- including ten novels -- has not attained the prominence it deserves internationally. This study is a literary analysis of Selvon's use of Trinidad Creole English as an important component of his style and method of fictional composition. Wyke follows the development of Selvon's writing from his early to his late career, starting with his first novel, A Brighter Sun (1952), continuing with The Lonely Londoners (1956) and the short stories Ways of Sunlight (1957), and devoting a large part of the book to Selvon's middle and later years, focusing on such novels as I Hear Thunder (1963), The Housing Lark (1965), and Those Who Eat the Cascadura (1972). He finishes with the last two works of Selvon's trilogy, Moses Ascending (1975) and Moses Migrating (1983).

Clement H. Wyke's profile page

Clement H. Wyke is a professor in the Department of English at the University of Winnipeg.

Clement H. Wyke has now written a highly useful guide to Sam Selvon's linguistic virtuosity, together with some helpful comments on Selvon's sense of place.
- Gerald Guinness, The San Juan Star