Title: The Caribbean: An Intellectual History (1774-2003)
Author: Denis M. Benn
Publisher: Ian Randle, Kingston, 2004
Reviewed by: Billy Hall
ONE WAY in which the value of a book may be assessed is whether it fills an important void in academia. This book certainly does that, for until its appearance, there was no book that provided an overview of the formative intellectual currents of this region - more specifically, the Anglophone Caribbean.
In the Preface the author makes this significant point, stating that the perspective of his book "differs somewhat from some of the more traditional approaches to academic research in the region, which have generally tended to isolate narrow historical periods or topics for intensive study".
WHERE TO BEGIN
Granted that such narrow perspectives have value, the wide scope of the historical period this book covers raises questions immediately as to where to begin. The author begins with the perspectives of the white planter class who were the slave owners and privileged elite of a system that promoted crude capitalism and justified social and racial bias, discriminating strongly against blacks.
Perhaps some might have thought that a book of this title ought to have focused, even exclusively, with the viewpoint of the majority blacks. Yet, even if that 'black beginning' had been adopted, the author would have had to at least recognise what it is that the black intellectuals were opposing. So, for sure, the value of the contribution of these whites, Edward Long (1734-1813), and Bryan Edwards (1743-1800) is that their thoughts are foundational to all subsequent discussions. Therefore, the inclusion of those white minority views ought to be perceived as justified, if analysis is to be sound and systematic.
Also, much of the later discussions, building on the earlier works, or recognising those writings as necessary 'points of departure' for proceeding with analytical and systematic examination of the issues, would necessarily make better sense in light of the availability of the documents of Long and Edwards.
The author is certainly right when he makes the observation that "there has been a conspicuous tendency in West Indian scholarship to ignore this earlier tradition, or to regard it as part of an alien tradition peculiar to a settler class rather than as part of genuine West Indian intellectual consciousness" (264).
CHALLENGED BY ANY OTHERS
Benn's selection of intellectuals and their thoughts would no doubt be challenged by any other historian, but undoubtedly, Benn identifies insightfully and comprehensively the essential persons of the Anglophone Caribbean. Nevertheless, disagreement seems justified when he identifies "three major intellectual influences in the figures of Garvey, James and Williams" (p.265). Certainly, Marcus Garvey is the most outstanding leader of intellectual thought having to do with racial consciousness. Certainly, C.L.R. James is the outstanding intellectual of radical political position. However, in contention would be the naming of Dr. Eric Williams as the third person of select outstanding influence, among all whose thoughts may be examined, covering the more latter period of the historical landscape identified, and so, apart from the contributions of Edwards and Long.
Surely, the work and writings of Sir Arthur Lewis (1915-1991), in regard to labour and the economic growth and development of the Caribbean is deserving of one of those three top categories. If Garvey may be said to represent a cultural (race) dimension, and James, a political (radical) dimension, then room seems available for an economic dimension, for which, undoubtedly, Lewis would be the best qualified candidate. Benn identifies Sir Arthur as "a pioneering voice in the development of modern Caribbean economics. Over the years, he produced a vast amount of literature that won international acclaim that led to the award of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1979" (p.103)
HIGH STANDARD
Nevertheless, while appreciating the high standard of the book on the whole, the introduction stands out, for true to the critical need to fill a significant gap, it engages the reader in an informed discussion on the subject of 'ideology'. His interest in this subject was evidently stirred by the fact that "there seems no universally accepted definition of the term, and in not a few cases there is considerable confusion and ambiguity about its meaning" (p. xii).
In general, this brief section of the book is a brilliant essay on the subject of 'ideology'. Only Stuart Hall, former Jamaican Rhodes scholar, regarded as Europe's foremost scholar on this subject, especially from a media perspective, has written on a plane of this high level.
This book fills an important void in the intellectual history of the Anglophone Caribbean.
Not just another Marley bookBEFORE THE inevitable 'not another Bob Marley book!' leaves their mouths, fans of the reggae king should take a browse through 'Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright', a new tome by American writer Hank Bordowitz. It was released July 1 in the United States by Da Capo Press.
'Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright' is a collection of feature stories mostly published either side of the 1970s: in the early stages of the decade when Marley was a struggling singer/songwriter with The Wailers, and the latter half when he became a bona fide superstar.
There are articles from respected publications such as Newsweek, Rolling Stone and The Village Voice; and writers like (the late) Lester Bangs of Creem Magazine and Alice Walker of Essence.
Bangs, who died in his New York City apartment in 1982, visits Marley in the summer of 1976, just weeks before there was an attempt to kill the singer at his St. Andrew home. He not only addresses the mystique surrounding the reggae star as the next big thing in pop music, but paints a vivid picture of the political upheaval in Jamaica at the time.
Walker is among a handful of African-American writers who followed Marley's rise and his frustration at being unable to find a large black audience in the United States. Through these articles, the reader discovers the impact Marley and reggae had in the United States during the 1970s.
"He certainly got better coverage (in mainstream magazines) than a lot of African-American artistes at the time, including George Clinton and the Motown acts," Bordowitz told the Sunday Gleaner. "His music had much more power in terms of writing."
Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright is not limited to music. There are indepth stories on Marley's performances in newly-independent Zimbabwe in 1980 and the messy legal battles concerning his estate following his death in May, 1981.
Marley's wife Rita and Wailers members Aston 'Familyman' Barrett American Al Anderson also contribute articles. According to Bordowitz, "I wanted to get as much voices in as possible."
A graduate of Rutgers University where he studied journalism, Bordowitz has worked for several publications such as Creem and Jazziz. He has written books on the Irish rock group U2, Bruce Springsteen and the 1960s message band Creedence Clearwater Revival; his current project on superstars of the Third World, is expected to be released later this year.
- Howard Campbell
