The Creative Use of Schizophrenia in Caribbean Writing

Dr. Viola Davis' THE CREATIVE USE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA IN CARIBBEAN WRITING, (Revised Edition) focuses on the literary works of four of the Caribbean's most prominent writers: Edward 'Kamau' Brathwaite of Barbados, Wilson Harris of Guyana, VS. Naipaul of Trinidad and Tobago and Derek Walcott of St. Lucia. Both Naipaul and Walcott have since become Nobel Laureates in Literature. Dr. Davis uses the idea of the use of schizophrenia as the basis for her analysis of the expression of these Caribbean writers. Dr. Davis' work examines an important area of concern within Caribbean literature and culture. In focusing on schizophrenia and the creative spirit this book revisits a set of concerns that helped to propel Caribbean literature and its criticism closer to the centre of postcolonial discourse and by extension, literary theory. The book's concern with the core critical issues it treats, does not represent a retrograde step in any way, for indeed, writers, critics, readers worldwide are constantly still wrestling with problems surrounding history, identity, colonization, race, art, power and the creative spirit.