The Swinging Bridge

Last updated
The Swinging Bridge
Author Ramabai Espinet
CountryCanada
Published2003
Pages320
ISBN 978-1-4434-2615-2

The Swinging Bridge is a novel by Ramabai Espinet, published in 2003 by Harper Collins Publishing. In 2004, the novel was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the category of Best First Book (Caribbean and Canada Region). [1] Espinet's novel focuses on a multi-generational Indo-Trinidadian family living in Canada, touching on a number of themes and topics such as gender identity and matrilineal ties. [2]

Contents

Ramabai Espinet is an Indo-Trinidadian author born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1948. Since she originally migrated to Canada in the 1970s, Espinet has divided her time between the Caribbean and Canada. Espinet received her Ph.D. from the University of the West Indies in Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago after graduating from York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently a professor at Seneca College. Some of her other notable works besides The Swinging Bridge include Beyond the Kalapani, The Princess of Spadina, and Ninja's Carnival. [3] [4]

Major themes

The major themes of the novel are:

Plot summary

Mona, a Trinidadian living in Montreal, is a film researcher whose family left Trinidad for Canada in hopes of finding a better life. At the start of her story, Mona gets word from her sister, Babs, that their brother, Kello, is dying. Kello tells his family that he is dying of lymphoma, but later reveals that he is actually dying from AIDS. He reveals to his sisters that he is in a relationship with a man, but swears them to secrecy. As the oldest, Kello asks Mona to return to Trinidad after his death and buy the family land back. Mona is hesitant, but eventually learns that she was given this opportunity to discover more about her family history, their journey from India to Trinidad, and the hardships they had to face along the way.

Throughout the novel, Mona unveils the significance of the historical archive for the history of her family, women, and the greater Indo-Trinidadian culture over the course of several generations and migrations. She gives voice to the marginalized voices that were silenced by the past and even by her own people. Set in modern times, this novel interconnects the past to the present. As Mona discovers these hidden histories, she also comes to discover herself. The "Swinging Bridge" serves as a symbol of her life journey and the journey of her ancestors.

Historical context

Related Research Articles

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians are people from Trinidad and Tobago who are largely of West African Sub-Saharan descent. Social interpretations of race in Trinidad and Tobago are often used to dictate who is of African descent. Mulatto-Creole, Dougla, Zambo-Maroon, Pardo, Quadroon, Octoroon or Hexadecaroon were all racial terms used to measure the amount of African ancestry someone possessed in Trinidad and Tobago, and throughout North American, Latin American and Caribbean history.

Dougla people are Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word Dougla is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean.

Makandal Akhenation Daaga was a Trinidad and Tobago political activist and former revolutionary. He was the leader of the 1970 Black Power Revolution. During the unrest he was arrested and charged.

Trinidadian and Tobagonian Canadians are Canadian citizens who are fully or partially of Trinidadian and Tobagonian descent or persons having those origins and having Canadian citizenship. There were 78,965 Trinidadian and Tobagonian Canadians in 2016, with the majority of them living in Toronto, specifically in the Thistletown and Eglinton West neighbourhoods as well as throughout Scarborough.

Trinidad and Tobago Country in the Caribbean

Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean and is known for its fossil-fuel wealth. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated 130 kilometres south of Grenada and 11 kilometres off the coast of northeastern Venezuela. It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest and Venezuela to the south and west.

Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most of these territories have become independent nations since the 1960s, though some retain colonial ties to the United Kingdom. They share, apart from the English language, a number of political, cultural, and social ties which make it useful to consider their literary output in a single category. The more wide-ranging term "Caribbean literature" generally refers to the literature of all Caribbean territories regardless of language—whether written in English, Spanish, French, Hindustani, or Dutch, or one of numerous creoles.

Lakshmi Persaud is a Trinidad-born, British-based writer who resides in London, England. She is the author of five novels: Butterfly in the Wind (1990), Sastra (1993), For the Love of My Name (2000), Raise the Lanterns High (2004) and Daughters of Empire (2012).

Trinidad and Tobago literature has its roots in oral storytelling among African slaves, the European literary roots of the French creoles and in the religious and folk tales of the Indian indentured immigrants. It blossomed in the 20th century with the writings of C.L.R. James, V.S. Naipaul and Saint Lucian-born Derek Walcott as part of the growth of West Indian literature.

Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi. These were spoken by indentured laborers who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.

The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly section.

Chinese Caribbeans are people of Han Chinese ethnic origin living in the Caribbean. There are small but significant populations of Chinese and their descendants in all countries of the Greater Antilles. They are all part of the large Chinese diaspora known as Overseas Chinese.

Ramabai Espinet is an Indo-Trinidadian poet, novelist, essayist, and critic from Trinidad and Tobago. Espinet was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. She attended York University in Toronto, Canada before earning a Ph.D. at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. She currently teaches English at Seneca College. Her writings on Euro-Creole women is influenced from works from Jean Rhys and Phyllis Shand Allfrey. Most of Espinet's works relate to her Indo-Caribbean heritage. Sister Vision Press published her first four works in Toronto, Canada.

Ronald Jay Williams

Ronald Jay Williams, son of Louis Jay Williams and brother of Michael Jay Williams, was a Trinidadian businessman and politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the West Indies Federation, Senator of Trinidad and Tobago, and Member of Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. From 1981 to 1986, he served as Minister of State Enterprises. During his tenure in government, his drive to reduce waste and seek cost efficiencies earned him the nickname "Chinese Chopper", a reference to his ethnicity and his willingness to cut expenditures.

Marguerite Wyke

Marguerite WykeOBE was an African-American-born Trinidadian teacher, poet, artist and politician. After growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey, and working as a teacher, she married and moved to Canada for a decade and then relocated to Trinidad. Writing for various journals and newspapers, and cultivating the artistic community in Trinidad, she became active in local politics. Renouncing her U. S. citizenship, Wyke became a Trinidadian citizen in 1953 and became active in the island's governance. With the establishment of the West Indies Federation she was appointed as one of two Senators from Trinidad and Tobago and one of only two women Senators to serve in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation. When the Federation dissolved, Wyke returned to her artistic endeavors, publishing poetry and participating in various art media.

Marjorie Ruth Thorpe is a Trinidadian academic, lecturer, former diplomat and the first woman to have chaired the Public Service Commission (PSC) in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also a development practitioner with a particular interest in gender issues.

Stella Piari Abidh (1903–1989) was a Trinidad and Tobago public health physician. She served as the Medical Officer of Health for San Fernando and as medical supervisor of schools in south Trinidad. She is believed to be the first Indo-Trinidadian woman to become a doctor.

Maureen Warner-Lewis is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian academic whose career focused on the linguistic heritage and unique cultural traditions of the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Her area of focus has been to recover the links between African cultures and Caribbean cultures. She has been awarded multiple prizes for her works, including two Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Awards, the Gold Musgrave Medal of the Institute of Jamaica, and was inducted into the Literary Hall of Fame of Tobago.

Mahmoud Pharouk Alladin (1919–1980) was a Trinidad and Tobago artist, poet, writer, teacher and public servant. Alladin played a major role in the expansion of art education and was an important influence on a wide range of Trinidad and Tobago artists. He helped develop a local artistic identity, and helped legitimise rural Indo-Trinidadian life as a subject for local artists.

References

  1. 1 2 Savory, Elaine (Spring 2007). "Interview with Ramabai Espinet". Wadabagei. 10 (2): 82–96. ProQuest   200387891.
  2. 1 2 3 Muneshwar, Tanita Amanda (2010). (Her)stories written: The construction of identity through politics, culture and education in the novels of contemporary Indo-Guyanese women (Thesis). ProQuest   748832849.
  3. "Ramabai Espinet’s Web Presence", The Swinging Bridge.
  4. 1 2 3 Budhu, Reshma. "Ramabai Espinet: Section15.ca". Ramabai Espinet :: Section15.ca. Section15.ca, 9 December 1997. Web. 20 April 2014.
  5. Robinson, Esther (2007). 'Variable identities': Locating Indo-Caribbean women's voices (Thesis). ProQuest   304734005.
  6. Solbiac, R. (2012). "Mémoire indienne dans The Swinging Bridge de Ramabai Espinet: la construction d'une identité indo-trinidadienne diasporique". Revue Etudes Caribéennes, no. ndo-c21.
  7. 1 2 Diasporic (Dis)Locations: Indo-Caribbean Writers Negotiate the Kala Pani. Kingston: University of West Indies Press. 2004.
  8. Hamilton, Njelle W (2012). Sound Writing: Popular Music in the Contemporary Caribbean Novel (Thesis). ProQuest   1074792138.
  9. 1 2 Mehta, B. (1 January 2006). "Engendering History: A Poetics of the Kala Pani in Ramabai Espinet's The Swinging Bridge". Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism. 10 (3): 19–36. doi:10.1215/-10-3-19.
  10. 1 2 Espinet, Ramabai (September 1989). "The invisible Woman in West Indian fiction". World Literature Written in English. 29 (2): 116–126. doi:10.1080/17449858908589105.
  11. Alex Graham, "Historical Context: Eric Williams, De Doctah, & Independence". The Swinging Bridge.
  12. "Eric Williams", Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2014. Web. 15 April 2014.
  13. Dayan, Joan; Dayan, Colin (10 March 1998). Haiti, History, and the Gods. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-21368-5.[ page needed ]
  14. Loy, Anne-Marie Lee (1 January 2007). "The Chinese Shop as Nation Theatre in West Indian Fiction". Anthurium. 5 (1): 5. doi: 10.33596/anth.91 .