London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism
This article examines a literary triangle treating a modern re-imagining of the Dantean Inferno in Caribbean migrant experience. Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners advanced a stylistic and intellectual revolution in post-World War II British literature, inspiring Colin MacInnes’ Absolute Beginners in...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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New Bulgarian University
2020-12-01
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Series: | English Studies at NBU |
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Online Access: | https://esnbu.org/data/files/2020/esnbu.20.2.6.pdf |
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author | Tadd Graham Fernée |
author_facet | Tadd Graham Fernée |
author_sort | Tadd Graham Fernée |
collection | DOAJ |
description | This article examines a literary triangle treating a modern re-imagining of the Dantean Inferno in Caribbean migrant experience. Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners advanced a stylistic and intellectual revolution in post-World War II British literature, inspiring Colin MacInnes’ Absolute Beginners in the founding literary texts of contemporary British multi-cultural society. It followed the template of Jean Rhys Voyage in the Dark. We must read these complex texts to understand the conflicted multi-cultural society that Britain has become today: they deal with identity and solidarity, atomisation and commodification, Empire and capitalism, while throwing light on the most recent advances in historical and theoretical scholarship by pioneers such as Olivette Otele and Reni Eddo-Lodge. Moreover, these texts throw new light on unanswered Structuralist and Post-Structuralist debates from Emile Durkheim to Martin Heidegger. This article examines the intersectionality of class, gender and race within both the national British framework of post-war capitalism and the wider colonial heritage of slavery and forced labour, highlighting voices who articulated an ideal of multi-cultural humanism that remains crucial today. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-16T15:14:30Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-eef0e663174d49619d940ec756cf09ef |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2367-5705 2367-8704 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-16T15:14:30Z |
publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
publisher | New Bulgarian University |
record_format | Article |
series | English Studies at NBU |
spelling | doaj.art-eef0e663174d49619d940ec756cf09ef2022-12-21T22:26:51ZengNew Bulgarian UniversityEnglish Studies at NBU2367-57052367-87042020-12-0162265294Windrush generation,10.33919/esnbu.20.2.6London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalismTadd Graham Fernée0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4364-3463New Bulgarian University, Sofia, BulgariaThis article examines a literary triangle treating a modern re-imagining of the Dantean Inferno in Caribbean migrant experience. Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners advanced a stylistic and intellectual revolution in post-World War II British literature, inspiring Colin MacInnes’ Absolute Beginners in the founding literary texts of contemporary British multi-cultural society. It followed the template of Jean Rhys Voyage in the Dark. We must read these complex texts to understand the conflicted multi-cultural society that Britain has become today: they deal with identity and solidarity, atomisation and commodification, Empire and capitalism, while throwing light on the most recent advances in historical and theoretical scholarship by pioneers such as Olivette Otele and Reni Eddo-Lodge. Moreover, these texts throw new light on unanswered Structuralist and Post-Structuralist debates from Emile Durkheim to Martin Heidegger. This article examines the intersectionality of class, gender and race within both the national British framework of post-war capitalism and the wider colonial heritage of slavery and forced labour, highlighting voices who articulated an ideal of multi-cultural humanism that remains crucial today.https://esnbu.org/data/files/2020/esnbu.20.2.6.pdfwindrush generationpost-colonial literaturesam selvonian macinnesjean rhysstructuralismblack historygendermulti-culturalismbritish literaturedantecapitalismcaribbean literaturecultural studiesstuart hall |
spellingShingle | Tadd Graham Fernée London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism English Studies at NBU windrush generation post-colonial literature sam selvon ian macinnes jean rhys structuralism black history gender multi-culturalism british literature dante capitalism caribbean literature cultural studies stuart hall |
title | London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism |
title_full | London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism |
title_fullStr | London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism |
title_full_unstemmed | London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism |
title_short | London's Burning: Structuralist Readings of the Urban Inferno in the 1950's British Literature of Multi-culturalism |
title_sort | london s burning structuralist readings of the urban inferno in the 1950 s british literature of multi culturalism |
topic | windrush generation post-colonial literature sam selvon ian macinnes jean rhys structuralism black history gender multi-culturalism british literature dante capitalism caribbean literature cultural studies stuart hall |
url | https://esnbu.org/data/files/2020/esnbu.20.2.6.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv | AT taddgrahamfernee londonsburningstructuralistreadingsoftheurbaninfernointhe1950sbritishliteratureofmulticulturalism |