Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After the First World War

by Karen McCarthy Woolf (Editor)

What does it mean to fight for a mother country that refuses to accept you as one of its own? Britain s First World War poets changed the way we view military conflict and had a deep impact on the national psyche. Yet the stories of the 15,600 volunteers who signed up to the British West Indian Regiment remain largely unknown. Sadly, these citizens of empire were not embraced as compatriots on an equal footing. Instead they faced prejudice, injustice and discrimination while being confined to menial and auxiliary work, regardless of rank or status.

As a collaborative project, co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW, BBC Contains Strong Language and the British Council, Unwritten Poems invited contemporary Caribbean and diaspora poets to write into that vexed space, and explore the nature of war and humanity as it exists now, and at a time when Britain s colonial ambitions were still at a peak. Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After the First World War is a result of that provocation and also includes new material written for broadcast and live performance.

With contributions from Jay Bernard, Malika Booker, Kat Francois, Jay T. John, Anthony Joseph, Ishion Hutchinson, Charnell Lucien, Vladimir Lucien, Rachel Manley, Tanya Shirley and Karen McCarthy Woolf.

Genres: Poetry

123 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Shivanee Ramlochan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review forthcoming!

[Firebird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this collection by accident, but I can say without doubt that each and every poem in it is remarkable and deeply moving. This was my first encounter with writing on the experience of Caribbean soldiers during the war, and the perspectives provided by the contributors to the collection were incredibly interesting to me. I think that each poet treats the subjects of war and racism in a very intelligent way that resonates emotionally with the reader, and the variety and complexity of other themes interwoven in-between makes for a collection of poetry of overall great literary quality.