Samuel Selvon

Looking for a better life a group of West Indians face harsh conditions in London, including racism, bad weather, loneliness, and hard times

The Lonely Londoners

Brighter Sun

A novel that follows a group of black, primarily West Indian immigrants as they attempt to build new lives for themselves in postwar London. In dramatizing the tension between the immigrants' fantasies and expectations of a city 'paved with gold,' and London's cold, gloomy, often hostile reality, the author touches upon themes of alienation and homesickness, as well as resistance and comic defiance. (Adapted from the Bartlett, UCL Faculty of the Built Environment, January 2020)

Moses thinks that he has prospered by becoming a man of property but complications arise when his building is occupied by the Black Power movement and illegal Pakistani immigrants.

Moses Ascending

The Housing Lark

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

I Hear Thunder

Turn Again Tiger

"I see trouble. Plenty trouble." The village obeahman Manko foresees trouble when an Englishman Garry Johnson comes to stay in the cacao estate of his friend Roger Franklin in Trinidad. Before long his prophecy is fulfilled when the visitor falls in love with the lovey Indian Sarojini. What had been a carefree atmosphere quickly evaporates, replaced with a tension-filled air full of jealousies, rivalries and intrigues as three races interact in post-independence Trinidad.

Those who Eat the Cascadura

A collection of essays and stories by the Trinidadian writer

Selected Prose 1946-1986

Foreday Morning

A Drink of Water

First published in 1958, this novel tells the continuing story of Tiger and Urmilla, a young Trinidadian couple struggling to lead an independent life away from traditional Indian ways. When Tiger's father claims to have a promotion as a supervisor on a sugar estate and begs his son to work as his book keeper, Tiger reluctantly agrees. The year spent working in the hated cane fields and being treated with demeaning contempt by the white overseer tests Tiger and his marriage to the core, but ultimately proves the provocation to true independence and new clarity in relation to his father, Indian tradition, and whiteness. This is a key exploration of the process of dougla identity?the Creolizing of Indo-Caribbean experience?and displays the best qualities of Selvon's seemingly casual art.

It has been more than 25 years since Moses Aloetta became one of the 'Lonely Londoners' in the novel of that name. Now - though an avowed Anglophile - he hankers for Trinidad, for sunshine, Carnival, and rum punch. With characteristic irony and delicacy of touch, Sam Selvon tells the story of Moses' re-encounter with his native land. This edition of the novel includes a new introduction to Selvon's life and work by Susheila Nasta, as well as a preface by 'Moses' that was written in 1992 for the first US edition of the work. This edition of Moses Migrating includes a new introduction to Selvon's life and work by Susheila Nasta, as well as a preface by 'Moses' that was written in 1992 for the first US edition of the work.

A Novel

Moses Migrating

Donald Moore

The Plains of Caroni

Contains the dramatic text for seven one-act plays that follow Moses Aloetta, as he tries to save enough money to leave England and return to his native Trinidad, and his friends, who are determined to prevent Moses from accomplishing his goal.

Eldorado West One

There have been many great and enduring works of literature by Caribbean authors over the last century. The Caribbean Contemporary Classics collection celebrates these deep and vibrant stories, overflowing with life and acute observations about society. 'Tiger thought, To my wife, I man when I sleep with she. To bap (father), I man if I drink rum. But to me, I no man yet.' Trinidad is in the turbulent throes of the Second World War, but the war feels quite far away to Tiger - young and inexperienced, he sets out to prove his manhood and independence. With his child-bride Urmilla, shy, bewildered and anxious, with two hundred dollars in cash and a milking cow, he sets out into the wilderness of adulthood. There is no map or directions for him to follow, he must learn for himself and find his own way. Suitable for readers aged 15 and above.

Samuel Selvon

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