Caption: Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica Kincaid 

Caribbean-American writer Jamaica Kincaid

From: New Letters on the Air
Series: New Letters on the Air
Length: :00

Jamaica Kincaid talks about the influence of her birthplace, the Caribbean island of Antigua, on her use of language and story telling, even though she left there when she was 16. The author of a dozen books including the beloved novel ANNIE JOHN and TALK STORIES, a collection of her writings for THE NEW YORKER from 1978-83, she reads from her novel, MR POTTER and another essay collection, MY GARDEN (BOOK). Read the full description.

Kincaid-prx_small From her early "Talk of the Town" essays for the THE NEW YORKER (now collected in her 2000 book TALK STORIES) and ANNIE JOHN (her first novel published in 1985), Caribbean-American writer Jamaica Kincaid is known for blending fiction and nonfiction to get at the truth of difficult issues, ranging from family dissolution, poverty and even AIDS, as in her 1997 memoir, MY BROTHER.   Born Elaine Potter Richardson in colonial Antigua, Kincaid reads from her 2002 novel, MR. POTTER (in which she explores the life of an island chauffeur who bears a striking resemblance to her own biological father) and her 1999 collection of essays, MY GARDEN (BOOK).   Kincaid talks about her lyrical use of language while part of the 2012 Hall Center for the Humanities Speaker Series at the University of Kansas.

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Piece Description

From her early "Talk of the Town" essays for the THE NEW YORKER (now collected in her 2000 book TALK STORIES) and ANNIE JOHN (her first novel published in 1985), Caribbean-American writer Jamaica Kincaid is known for blending fiction and nonfiction to get at the truth of difficult issues, ranging from family dissolution, poverty and even AIDS, as in her 1997 memoir, MY BROTHER.   Born Elaine Potter Richardson in colonial Antigua, Kincaid reads from her 2002 novel, MR. POTTER (in which she explores the life of an island chauffeur who bears a striking resemblance to her own biological father) and her 1999 collection of essays, MY GARDEN (BOOK).   Kincaid talks about her lyrical use of language while part of the 2012 Hall Center for the Humanities Speaker Series at the University of Kansas.

Broadcast History

This program originally uplinked to PRSS' Content Depot on August 21, 2012, for delivery to member stations.

Timing and Cues

PROMO: NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR continues the celebration of Women's History Month with Caribbean-American writer, Jamaica Kincaid. She discusses the influence of her island home on her use of language, and the limited choices island women had. This author of a dozen books including the beloved novel ANNIE JOHN and TALK STORIES, a collection of her writings for THE NEW YORKER from 1978-83, now has a 2013 novel out called SEE NOW THEN. Find out about Jamaica Kincaid's writing process on the next NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR...
UPLINK DATE: 03/08/2013
PROGRAM LENGTH: 29:00 minutes
INCUE: (music) "Elaine Potter Richardson left the island of Antigua..."
OUTCUE: "and thanks to you, too, for listening to NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR."

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Brittle Rille," "Light Thought," and "Summer Day Kevin MacLeod Royalty-free. Royalty-free Production Music 2012 00:00

Additional Credits

New Letters on the Air is a production of the quarterly literary magazine, New Letters, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Partial financial support comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Related Website

http://www.newletters.org/ontheair.asp