Meet the author: Caryl Phillips
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Migration and Minorities (BIRMM) and Passa Porta invite you to a reading and discussion with British writer Caryl Phillips. His latest novel, Another Man in the Street, is a powerful and unvarnished story of people searching for their place in the world.
limited opportunities
Victor, an aspiring young journalist from the Caribbean, boards a ship to England in the 1960s. His migration is voluntary and driven by an urge to follow his calling. Despite his talents and efforts, however, he soon faces limitations instead of opportunities.
the challenges of a new world
Phillips’ novel describes the impact of each individual decision when leaving a familiar place and breaking ties – both for those who leave and for those who stay behind. The fate of individuals, their unique dreams, disappointments and shortcomings, their experiences of hostility and hospitality are all addressed in the book. By portraying his characters neither as saints nor as heroes, Phillips focuses on the sometimes difficult development of individuals.
a portrait of life
The story gets to the heart of migration, belonging and the difficult, all-too-human choices that shape us. These intriguing portraits of individual lives are masterfully captured. They show once again what literature, and perhaps only literature, can stand for when it manages to touch on the complexity and contradictions of human existence. Caryl Phillips will read from his book in Brussels and talk to Suzanne Scafe, visiting professor at VUB.
about the author
Caryl Phillips has been described as ‘one of Britain’s pre-eminent writers’ (The Guardian) and ‘one of the literary giants of our time’ (The New York Times). He is the acclaimed author of 17 prose books and countless works for the stage, film and radio. His work has won many prizes, including the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
about the moderator
Suzanne Scafe is a visiting professor at the Centre for Literary and Intermedial Crossings at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She specializes in Caribbean, Black British and Postcolonial Literature. She is the co-author of the classic The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain; the author of Teaching Black Literature and the author and editor of many publications on Caribbean and Black British literature and culture. Her book Reading to Resist: Fiction by Contemporary Black British Women Writers will be published by Routledge later this year.
In collaboration with Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Brussels Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Migration and Minorities (BIRMM).
foto Caryl Philipps © Eamonn Mc Cabe for The Observer
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Meet the author: Caryl Phillips
The renowned British writer Caryl Phillips will be at Passa Porta to discuss his latest novel, Another Man in the Street.
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