Sylvia Wynter Knihy

The anti-colonial struggle in Jamaica coincided with Sylvia Wynter's childhood, inspiring this foundational phase of her work. The collected essays and articles not only argue against colonialism but also aim to decolonize the discourse legitimizing the imperial order. At the time of writing, Wynter was a novelist, playwright, scholar of Spanish Caribbean history, and a sharp literary critic known for her engaging polemics. Her intellectual prowess shines through in these essays, which explore diverse topics, including C.L.R. James's writings on cricket, Bob Marley and Rastafari's counter-cosmogony, and a pioneering examination of Bernado de Balbuena, an epic poet and Abbot of Jamaica from 1562-1627. Despite the varied subjects, a coherent argument emerges: in line with C.L.R. James, Wynter's work seeks to reconceptualize regional history and, by extension, modern history, from a world-systemic perspective. This approach shifts the narrative away from the normative European viewpoint to encompass the "gaze from below" of the neo-serf (Indian) and ex-slave (Negro), representing the ultimate underside of modernity.