Cynthia James (born 1948) is a Trinidadian Canadian writer and literary theorist.

Early life and education

Cynthia James was born in

Sangre Grande Sangre Grande is the largest town in northeastern Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Arima and southwest of the village of Toco. It is the seat of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and capital of the region. Overview and history ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

, in 1948. She was raised in Salybia, a village on the coast, and her parents were both teachers. James attended St. George's College in Barataria, and then in 1969 she obtained a bachelor's degree in French, Spanish, and English from the

University of the West Indies at St. Augustine The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine is a public research university in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system, which are ranked 1st in the Caribbean. It is ra ...

. She later graduated with a master of art degree from the university. In the 1990s, James went to the United States to study at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

in Washington, D.C., where she graduated with a Ph.D. in 1998. She lectured at Howard before returning to Trinidad.

Career

James continued her academic career at the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, lecturing on language education and other subjects. She also served on the university's advisory board and published extensively in academic journals. Her first book of literary criticism, ''The Maroon Narrative'', was published in 2002; it focuses on Caribbean literature in English. She also worked for many years as a public school teacher in Trinidad.

Writing

James had early success as a playwright, winning the country's first play-writing competition in 1979 with the work ''No Resolution.'' She published her first book, the short story collection ''Soothe Me Music'', in 1990. This was followed by three poetry collections in the '90s: ''Iere, My Love''; ''Vigil''; and ''La Vega and Other Poems''. Her most recent collection, ''Watermarked'', was released in 2014. In 2000, James published her first novel, ''Bluejean'', followed by the novel ''Sapodilla Terrace'' in 2006. Her work has been included in a number of anthologies, including the ''Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse'' and ''Sisters of Caliban: Contemporary Women Writers of the Caribbean.'' In 2013, she was awarded the ''Caribbean Writer''’s Canute A. Brodhurst Prize for Fiction.

Personal life

James currently lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, where she moved in the late 2000s.

Selected works

Stories

* ''Soothe Me Music'' (1990)

Poetry

* ''Iere, My Love'' (1990) * ''Vigil: A Long Poem'' (1995) * ''La Vega and Other Poems'' (1995) * ''Watermarked'' (2014)

Novels

* ''Bluejean'' (2000) * ''Sapodilla Terrace'' (2006)

Literary criticism

* ''The Maroon Narrative'' (2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Cynthia 1948 births Trinidad and Tobago women writers Trinidad and Tobago women poets Trinidad and Tobago academics Trinidadian and Tobagonian Canadian University of the West Indies alumni Howard University alumni Living people Trinidad and Tobago poets