Brit author on politics, migration and literature

Anthony Joseph. Foto: Joseph

By Samantha Cox

Anthony Joseph on politics of black literature.
Up and coming reading in Vienna next week.

Vienna. Anthony Joseph is a British poet and author whose experimental, genre- crossing work draws crea- tively upon his Trinidadian heritage. Ahead of a reading and discussion in Vienna on 23 November (Monday), he spoke to the News on Austria about politics and the aesthetic processes that shape his work.

Joseph moved to London from Trinidad in 1989, when still in his early twen- ties, to become "a writer or artist.” He was part of a generation in post-colonial Trinidad who were, he says, "desperate to leave” and move to "the big city.”

Asked whether this is still the case, Joseph pauses and says: "Actually, I think it’s changed.” Since the attempted coup in 1990 people are now, he says, "thinking more about what it means to be a Trini- dadian.” This and the country’s improved econo- my mean that people are no longer so eager to go elsewhere.

Joseph’s work suggests he still bears strong emotio- nal ties to his place of birth. However, he disassociates himself from debates around "origin” or "home- land" which preoccupy aca- demic discussion of black writing. His recent novel "The African History of UFOs” is, he says, a "ton- gue-in-cheek satire” on the pointlessness of questions such as "what is black- ness?” He and other writers, he says, can "stand back and laugh at them fighting it out.”

A friend has told him that he tackles race politics "sideways, through the effect it has on language.” This perhaps explains his work’s oral quality - it begs to be read out loud, through its use of rhythm and allite- ration, and frequently emu- lates the patterns of speech. However, he is "not really into" the "slam” or spoken- word scene frequently asso- ciated with contemporary black writing in Britain and the US.

While these poets place emphasis on improvisation, his process is a slower one. "I start from the page,” he says, "and if it works from the page, then I read it. I believe in editing a lot, working on something for a long time, and saying something that hasn’t been said before. For me the challenge is to make it intellectually interesting.”

Joseph has performed in countries across Europe; I wonder how his complex, experimental work goes down in countries where English is not the native language.

"On an emotional level," he says, it is received "in the same way” as in the UK and US. He understands people might not under- stand every word but, for Joseph, this need not entail a breakdown of communica- tion.

In these cases the emphasis, he says, shifts to "the feeling, the vibe, the sound and the energy rather than the lyrical content.”

Citing the famous Carib- bean literary figure Kamau Braithwaite, who "wanted to create sculpture in the air”, he says he wants to "create a feeling, some un- nameable force in people” that they can feel "without knowing exactly what the story is.”

Anthony Joseph reads poetry from his latest work, "Bird Hand Sun”, at the University of Vienna’s English Department from 7pm on 23 November (Monday).

Go to http://www.austriantimes.at for the full version of the article.

Printausgabe vom 20.11.2009