Joan Cambridge, also known as Joan Cambridge Mayfield, is a Guyanese writer. Beginning in the 1960s, Cambridge worked as a journalist, including as a reporter and as women's page editor of the ''Guiana Graphic'', which later became the ''

Guyana Chronicle The ''Guyana Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers ...

''. She also appeared on the radio for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Cambridge met her husband, the American actor, writer, and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist

Julian Mayfield Julian Hudson Mayfield (June 6, 1928 – October 20, 1984) was an American actor, director, writer, lecturer and civil rights activist. Early life Julian Hudson Mayfield was born on June 6, 1928, in Greer, South Carolina, and was raised from ...

, when they were both working at the Guyanese Ministry of Information and Culture. They married in 1973, and a few years later the couple left Guyana and moved to Washington, D.C., spending time in Germany as well. Mayfield died in 1984, in Washington. Cambridge returned to Guyana after his death, moving to the remote Yukuriba Falls in the

Upper Demerara-Berbice Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10) is a region of Guyana, bordering the regions of Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Demerara-Mahaica and Mahaica-Berbice to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the east, and the regions of Potaro-S ...

region. While Cambridge had worked on a novel in collaboration with her husband, titled ''Murder on the East Bank'', it was never published. She also wrote an unpublished autobiographical novel, ''Show Me the Way to Stay Home''. Her first novel, ''Clarise Cumberbatch Want to Go Home'', was published in 1987. It was written in a modified version of

Guyanese Creole Guyanese Creole (''Creolese'' by its speakers or simply ''Guyanese'') is an English-based creole language spoken by the Guyanese people. Linguistically, it is similar to other English dialects of the Caribbean region, based on 19th-century En ...

. It is about a Guyanese immigrant woman who comes to New York in search of her husband, who faces difficulties fitting in with both Americans and Guyanese

Expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

s. It is considered a representative work of

Guyanese literature Guyanese literature covers works including novels, poetry, plays and others written by people born or strongly-affiliated with Guyana. Formerly British Guiana, British language and style has an enduring impact on the writings from Guyana, which a ...

, part of a new wave of Guyanese women writers at the time. Cambridge's work has also been featured in

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

's 1992 anthology ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

.'' During her years living in the United States, Cambridge became involved in the

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

literary scene, counting

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

among her social circle. Though she now lives in the Guyanese interior, she has continued to travel to and work in the United States, particularly New York and Washington. In 2000, she participated in the Summer Institute fellows conference and D.C. Area Writing Project in Washington, D.C., and she has been involved with the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, including performing a reading at their symposium at Columbia University in 2004. Cambridge continues to be involved in activism in her country and internationally, including advocating in defense of her native language

and offering 100 acres of her land to resettle

Haitians Haitians ( French: , ) are the citizens and nationals of Haiti. The Haitian people have their origins in West and Central Africa with the most spoken language being the French based Haitian Creole. The larger Haitian diaspora includes individu ...

displaced by the

2010 earthquake Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 8th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge, Joan Guyanese women novelists Guyanese journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Guyanese women writers 21st-century Guyanese women writers