Contents
Jamaica Kincaid
Writing Annie John and A Small Place, exploring family, colonialism and belonging.
Annie John · A Small Place
- Born
- 25 May 1949
- Birthplace
- St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
More people
Jamaica Kincaid
Antiguan-American novelist and essayist whose intimate voice can shift into sharp political criticism.
Early life
Antiguan childhood
Grew up in St. John’s and attended local schools.
Migration
Moved to New York as a teenager to work as an au pair.
Career
- 1970s
Magazine writing
Began writing and became associated with The New Yorker.
- 1980s–1990s
Books and recognition
Published fiction and essays that established an international reputation.
- 2000s onward
Teaching and later work
Continued writing while teaching at Harvard and developing garden-related essays.
Selected work
Annie John
A coming-of-age novel about an Antiguan girl and her mother.
A Small Place
A forceful essay about colonial inheritance and tourism in Antigua.
Lucy
A novel following a young Caribbean woman working in North America.
Beyond work
Gardening
Her long-standing passion for plants became a subject of books and essays.
Family memoir
Wrote My Brother after her brother died of AIDS.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Sofie Sigrinn. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
