What is Commonwealth Literature?

LITERATURE: What is Commonwealth Literature?

- Commonwealth Literature, Post-Colonial Literature in English, New Literature in English, World Writing in English – these are just some of the terms being used to describe the writings of ‘members’ of the former British Empire.
The (British) Commonwealth of Nations, to give it its original name, is an association of states comprising Britain and its former colonies, along with their dependencies.

The original grouping in 1931 and comprised Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand who, while self-governing, pledged allegiance to the British Crown. The association was expanded and restructured in 1949, when participants agreed to drop both the ‘British’ and the concept of allegiance. Today the Commonwealth is a loose alliance of 53 countries, with a combined population of more than one billion.

The number of titles, however, reflects the growing international importance of such writings as evidenced this month at the London Festival of Commonwealth Literature, with writers coming from around the globe.

It is an important milestone because many universities around the world now have courses in Commonwealth Literature, or some similar nomenclature, and academics are churning out books seemingly at the same pace as the fiction writers, poets and dramatists. Professors who teach the subject say that students who want to study English Literature are increasingly interested in the works coming from the English-speaking Caribbean, Africa, Canada and South-East Asia.

 ‘Commonwealth Literature’ is thus used to cover the literary works from territories that were once part of the British Empire, but it usually excludes books from the United Kingdom unless these are produced by resident writers who originate from a former colony. The great irony, however, is that much of the best literature that has emerged from Britain in the last years has been produced by writers from or with roots in colonies.

These writers include V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad), Salman Rushdie (India), Ben Okri (Nigeria), Timothy Mo (Hong Kong), and the late Jean Rhys (Dominica). Their excellence has led to articles and even books being titled ‘The Empire Writes Back’.

‘Commonwealth Literature’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘post-colonial literatures’ although the latter could include literatures in other languages as well, such as French or Portuguese. Commonwealth Writers had more in common with the ‘magical realism’ of Latin American authors than with other ex- British colonies.

Most critics agree that ‘post-colonial’ in the English context covers the literatures of African countries, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Caribbean countries, India, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Pacific Island countries, and Sri Lanka, to quote from one recent analysis.

A similar roster of nations would fit under ‘Commonwealth’. But while some post-colonial theorists would also place the United States in their category, those who favour the term Commonwealth would definitely exclude America, while including countries such as South Africa for ‘reasons of completeness’. South Africa left the Commonwealth in 1961 but rejoined it in 1994.

One important aspect of so-called Commonwealth literature may be that it is written in one place by people from another place. Whereas an earlier generation of writers settled in Britain, many contemporary authors have chosen to live in Canada or the United States. A significant part of the West Indian, or Caribbean, diaspora (itself part of the African diaspora) has found itself in Canada, alongside the Indian/Asian diaspora.

Some internationally known writers in Canada who originate from elsewhere include Rohinton Mistry, Cyril Dabydeen, Michael Ondaatje, Olive Senior and Neil Bissoondath, just to name a few.

Many of these writers’ parents were themselves descendants of migrants from still other colonies. Thus a feature of their writing concerns displacement. But this feature is not unique to the literature of Commonwealth countries; African-American and native American authors also speak of displacement.

Perhaps the only thing that is common to Commonwealth Literature is the English language, yet it is English with a difference. In a Caribbean short story, for instance, the narrative may be in the ‘Queen’s English’, while the dialogue may be in Creole. The same goes for African as well as Indian literature where indigenous words are incorporated without translation.

Complicating things, however, is the fact that there are many writers in Commonwealth countries who have chosen not to write in English, either to make a political statement or to reach those who don’t speak the language.

The prize is called the ‘Commonwealth Writers Prize

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Year	Region	Author	Title	Country
2012[3][4]	Africa	Jekwu Anyaegbuna	Morrison Okoli (1955–2010)	Nigeria
	Asia	Anushka Jasraj	Radio Story	India
	Canada and Europe	Andrea Mullaney	The Ghost Marriage	Scotland
	Caribbean	Diana McCaulay	The Dolphin Catcher	Jamaica
	Pacific	Emma Martin	Two Girls in a Boat	New Zealand
2013[5][6] (joint winners)	Africa	Julian Jackson	The New Customers	South Africa
	Asia	Michael Mendis	The Sarong-Man in the Old House, and an Incubus for a Rainy Night	Sri Lanka
	Canada and Europe	Eliza Robertson	We Walked On Water	Canada
	Caribbean	Sharon Millar	The Whale House	Trinidad and Tobago
	Pacific	Zoë Meager	Things with Faces	New Zealand

Commonwealth Book Prize]

Year	Region	Author	Title	Country	Publisher
2012[3][7]	Africa	Jacques Strauss	The Dubious Salvation of Jack V	South Africa	Jonathan Cape
	Asia	Shehan Karunatilaka	Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew	Sri Lanka	Random House
	Canada and Europe	Riel Nason	The Town that Drowned	Canada	Goose Lane Editions
	Caribbean	Alecia McKenzie	Sweetheart	Jamaica	Peepal Tree Press
	Pacific	Cory Taylor	Me and Mr Booker	Australia	The Text Publishing Company
2013[5][6]	Africa	E.E. Sule	Sterile Sky	Nigeria	Pearson Education
	Asia	Nayomi Munaweera	Island of a Thousand Mirrors	Sri Lanka	Perera-Hussein Publishing House
	Canada and Europe	Lisa O'Donnell	The Death of Bees	United Kingdom	William Heinemann
	Caribbean	Ezekel Alan	Disposable People	Jamaica	self-published
	Pacific	Michael Sala	The Last Thread	Australia	Affirm Press

Commonwealth Short Story Competition (1996–2011

Year	Author	Country	Title
1996
1997	Dana Gilkes	Barbados	"Crab Catcher"
1998	Sujam Sankranti	India
1999
2000	Dennis Nichols	Guyana	"The Release"
2001	Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming	Bahamas	"Saving Rupa"
2002	Michael Reckord	Jamaica	"The Cleaning Class"
2003	Madhulika Liddle	India	"A Morning Swim"
2004	Ruvanee P. Vilhauer	Sri Lanka	"Going Home"
2005	Preeta Krishna	India	"Treason"
2006	Erin Soros	Canada	"The Moon, the Cat and the Donkey"
2007	Banda-Aaku	Zambia	"Sozi's Box"
2008	Julie Curwin	Canada	"World Backwards"
2009	Jennifer Moore	United Kingdom	"Table Talk"
2010	Shachi Kaul	India	"Retirement"
2011	Philip Nash	United Kingdom	"Rejoinder"

Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best Book (1987–2011)

In the following lists for the Best Book Prize and Best First Book, the overall winners are in bold and in blue background; those not in bold are the winners of the listed regions.

Year	Region	Author	Title	Country	Publisher
2011[8]	Africa	Aminatta Forna	The Memory of Love	Sierra Leone
	Canada and the Caribbean	Emma Donoghue	Room	Canada
	Europe and South Asia	David Mitchell	The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet	UK
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Kim Scott	That Deadman Dance	Australia
2010[9]	Africa	Marié Heese	The Double Crown	South Africa
	Canada and the Caribbean	Michael Crummey	Galore	Canada
	Europe and South Asia	Rana Dasgupta	Solo	India/UK
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Albert Wendt	The Adventures of Vela'	Samoa
2009[10]	Africa	Mandla Langa	The Lost Colours of the Chameleon	South Africa	Picador Africa
	Canada and the Caribbean	Marina Endicott	Good to a Fault	Canada	Freehand Books
	Europe and South Asia	Jhumpa Lahiri	Unaccustomed Earth	India/UK	Bloomsbury Publishing
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Christos Tsiolkas	The Slap	Australia	Allen & Unwin
2008	Africa	Karen King-Aribisala	The Hangman's Game	Nigeria	Peepal Tree Press
	Canada and the Caribbean	Lawrence Hill	The Book of Negroes	Canada	HarperCollins
	Europe and South Asia	Indra Sinha	Animal's People	India	Simon and Schuster
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Steven Carroll	The Time We Have Taken	Australia	HarperCollins
2007	Africa	Shaun Johnson	The Native Commissioner	South Africa	Penguin Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	David Adams Richards	The Friends of Meager Fortune	Canada	Doubleday
	Europe and South Asia	Naeem Murr	The Perfect Man	UK	Heineman
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Lloyd Jones	Mister Pip	New Zealand	Penguin Books
2006	Africa	Benjamin Kwakye	The Sun by Night	Ghana	Africa World Press
	Canada and the Caribbean	Lisa Moore	Aligator	Canada	House of Anasi Press
	Europe and South Asia	Zadie Smith	On Beauty	UK	Hamish Hamilton
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Kate Grenville	The Secret River	Australia	Text Publishing
2005	Africa	Lindsey Collen	Boy	South Africa	Bloomsbury
	Canada and the Caribbean	Alice Munro	Runaway	Canada	McClelland and Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Andrea Levy	Small Island	UK	Review
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Andrew McGahan	The White Earth	Australia	Allen & Unwin
2004	Africa	Damon Galgut	The Good Doctor	South Africa	Viking Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	Frances Itani	Deafening	Canada	Flamingo
	Europe and South Asia	Caryl Phillips	A Distant Shore	UK	Secker & Warburg
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Michelle de Kretser	The Hamilton Case	Australia	Knopf
2003	Africa	Andre Brink	The Other Side of Silence	South Africa	Secker & Warburg
	Canada and the Caribbean	Austin Clarke	The Polished Hoe	Canada	Thomas Allan
	Europe and South Asia	Michael Frayn	Spies	UK	Faber and Faber
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Sonya Hartnett	Of a Boy	Australia	Viking Books
2002	Africa	Nadine Gordimer	The Pickup	South Africa	Bloomsbury
	Canada and the Caribbean	Alice Munro	Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage	Canada	McClelland and Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Ian McEwan	Atonement	UK	Jonathan Cape
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Richard Flanagan	Gould's Book of Fish	Australia	Picador
2001	Africa	Zakes Mda	The Heart of Redness	South Africa	Oxford University Press
	Canada and the Caribbean	Anita Rau Badami	The Hero's Walk	Canada	Knopf
	Europe and South Asia	J. G. Ballard	Super-Cannes	UK	Flamingo
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Peter Carey	True History of the Kelly Gang	Australia	University of Queensland Press
2000	Africa	J. M. Coetzee	Disgrace	South Africa	Secker & Warburg
	Canada and the Caribbean	Shauna Singh Baldwin	What the Body Remembers	Canada	Doubleday
	Europe and South Asia	Salman Rushdie	The Ground Beneath Her Feet	UK	Jonathan Cape
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Lily Brett	Too Many Men	Australia	Picador
1999	Africa	Marion Molteno	If You Can Walk, You Can Dance	South Africa	Shola Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	Lawrence Scott	Aelred's Sin	Trinidad	Allison & Busby
	Europe and South Asia	Beryl Bainbridge	Master Georgie	UK	Duckworth
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Murray Bail	Eucalyptus	Australia	Harvill Press
1998	Africa	Charles Mungoshi	Walking Still	Zimbabwe	Baobab Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	Mordecai Richler	Barney's Version	Canada	Knopf
	Europe and South Asia	Vikram Chandra	Love and Longing in Bombay	India	Faber and Faber
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Peter Carey	Jack Maggs	Australia	University of Queensland Press
1997	Africa	Yvonne Vera	Under the Tongue	Zimbabwe	Boabab Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	Earl Lovelace	Salt	Trinidad	Faber and Faber
	Europe and South Asia	Beryl Bainbridge	Every Man for Himself	UK	Duckworth
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Sue Woolfe	Leaning Towards Infinity	Australia	Random House
1996	Africa	No selection made
	Canada and the Caribbean	Rohinton Mistry	A Fine Balance	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	David Lodge	Therapy	UK	Secker & Warburg
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Gillian Mears	The Grass Sister	Australia	Random House
1995	Africa	J. M. Coetzee	The Master of Petersburg	South Africa	Secker & Warburg
	Canada and the Caribbean	V.S. Naipaul	A Way in the World	Trinidad	Heinemann
	Europe and South Asia	Louis de Bernières	Captain Corelli's Mandolin	UK	Secker & Warburg
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Tim Winton	The Riders	Australia	Pan Macmillan
1994	Africa	Lindsey Collen	The Rape of Sita	Mauritius	Ledikasyon pu Travayer
	Canada and the Caribbean	Margaret Atwood	The Robber Bride	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Vikram Seth	A Suitable Boy	India	Penguin Books
	South East Asia and South Pacific	David Malouf	Remembering Babylon	Australia	Random House
1993	Africa	Isidore Okpewho	Tides	Nigeria	Longman
	Canada and the Caribbean	Michael Ondaatje	The English Patient	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Lee Langley	Persistent Rumours	UK	William Heinemann
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Alex Miller	The Ancestor Game	Australia	Penguin Books
1992	Africa	Ama Ata Aidoo	Changes	Ghana	The Women's Press
	Canada and the Caribbean	Rohinton Mistry	Such a Long Journey	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Louis de Bernières	Señor Vivo & the Coca Lord	UK	Secker & Warburg
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Albert Wendt	Ola	Samoa/New Zealand	Penguin Books
1991	Africa	Syl Cheney-Coker	The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar	Sierra Leone	Heinemann
	Canada and the Caribbean	Alice Munro	Friend of My Youth	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	A. S. Byatt	Possession: A Romance	UK	Chatto & Windus
	South East Asia and South Pacific	David Malouf	The Great World	Australia	Chatto & Windus
1990	Africa	Shimmer Chinodya	Harvest of Thorns	Zimbabwe	Baobab Books
	Canada and the Caribbean	Mordecai Richler	Solomon Gursky Was Here	Canada	Viking Books
	Europe and South Asia	Shashi Tharoor	The Great Indian Novel	India	Penguin Books
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Robert Drewe	The Bay of Contented Men	Australia	Picador
1989	Africa	Tsitsi Dangarembga	Nervous Conditions	Zimbabwe	The Women's Press
	Canada and the Caribbean	Erna Brodber	Myal	Jamaica	New Beacon Books
	Europe and South Asia	Marina Warner	The Lost Father	UK	Chatto & Windus
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Janet Frame	The Carpathians	New Zealand	Century Hutchinson
1988	Africa	Festus Iyayi	Heroes	Nigeria	Longman
	Canada and the Caribbean	Jack Hodgins	The Honorary Patron	Canada	McClelland & Stewart
	Europe and South Asia	Bruce Chatwin	Songlines	UK	Jonathan Cape
	South East Asia and South Pacific	George Turner	The Sea and Summer	Australia	Faber and Faber
1987	Africa	Ben Okri	Incidents at the Shrine	Nigeria	William Heinemann
	Africa	Ken Saro-Wiwa	A Forest of Flowers	Nigeria	Saros International
	Canada and the Caribbean	Margaret Atwood	The Handmaid's Tale	Canada	Jonathan Cape
	Canada and the Caribbean	Olive Senior	Summer Lightning	Canada	Longman
	Europe and South Asia	Nayantara Sahgal	Plans for Departure	India	William Heinemann
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Blanche d'Alpuget	Winter in Jerusalem	Australia	Heinemann
	South East Asia and South Pacific	Witi Ihimaera	The Matriarch	New Zealand	Heinemann