Kamau Brathwaite

A giant in world literature, Kamau's books include The Arrivants (Oxford 1973); Middle Passages (Bloodaxe 1992); Ancestors (New Directions 2001) & he is the author of numerous works of cultural criticism – inc., perhaps most famously, The History of the Voice (New Beacon 1984). “[He] resembles early modernists like Eliot and Pound, but where they detected decay in Western civilisation, [he] seeks to revive, and synthesize with other strands, African traditions and culture.” Mario Relich, Oxford Companion to 20th Century Poetry. His most recent collection published in the UK is - Words Need Love Too (Salt Publishing) - followed by Born to Slow Horses (Wesleyan University Press) - which was the co-winner of the Griffin Prize

Kamau's poem - Negus - is featured on the poetry jukebox & can also be found in Poetry in Performance Volume 2 (CD), for more information, please click here

A series of brand-new recordings made by Kamau with 57 - entitled PRAISE POEMS - is available exclusively on the iPoems system - plus a sample of a film-documentary now in production of Kamau's London 'Shadda' of 2002 in the Media section

57 Productions artists

Benjamin Zephaniah