Samuel Dickson Selvon

Lewis MacLeod (Trent University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

Born 20 May 1923
Died 16 Apr 1994
Activity 1943-1994

Places

Born in Trinidad
Active in Trinidad; United Kingdom

Cultural Identities

Caribbean Black British

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Resources

Selvon's Works

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Samuel Dickson Selvon was born in San Fernando, Trinidad in 1923 to an Indian father and a half-Indian mother. He attended Naparimo College in his early teenage years and served as a wireless operator for the Royal Naval Reserve during WWII. After the war, he worked for five years as a journalist for the

Trinidad Guardian

. Spurred by the depressed economic situation in Trinidad, Selvon moved to London in 1950, where he launched his literary career, publishing five novels between 1952 and 1958. In 1978, he moved to Calgary, Alberta, but he was never fully integrated into any clear notion of Canadian Literature. Preparing to return to Canada after an illness, he died in Trinidad in 1994.

Selvon wrote eleven full-length works of fiction: A Brighter Sun, An Island is a World, The Lonely

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3775 words

Citation: MacLeod, Lewis. "Samuel Dickson Selvon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 September 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4009, accessed 25 November 2024.]