In 1932 the young writer and political activist CLR James arrived in
London from his native Trinidad. During his first weeks in the city he
wrote a series of essays about his impressions and experiences for
publication back home in the Port of Spain Gazette. Seventy years later,
these pieces, newly transcribed from archives in the Caribbean, are
published for the first time as a collection, with an extensive
introduction and notes.
Letters from London reveals CLR James'
first encounter with the colonial metropolis and the values that had
already shaped his intellectual development in Trinidad. Drawn to
London's literary and political avant-garde, he describes life in
Bloomsbury, arguments with Edith Sitwell, visits to theatres, museums
and concert halls, and his seminal friendship with the great West Indies
cricketer, Learie Constantine. Initially in awe of London, James soon
develops a critical stance towards the city and its once mysterious
people, analysing their drab architecture, shallow newspapers and
repressed social relations.
'Londoners have had sixty years of
compulsory education and all the advantages of a great modern city,' he
writes. 'When you look at the intellectual quality of the people, you
are astonished.' A resurrected 'classic' of considerable importance,
Letters from London provides a hitherto inaccessible picture of the
young CLR James and his formative period. This collection will appeal
not just to Jamesites, but to scholars of colonial and post-colonial
history and those interested in London.
Letters from London - CLR James
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