The Pleasures Of Exile

Although published in 1960, this collection of essays still carries vast currency. This is a fantastic example of "historical revisionism" in that Prospero and Caliban have their relationship subverted and reformulated. As a descendant of slaves and the product of Western culture (he convincingly makes the case that all of us are either the latter or both), George Lamming realizes that we can't reject our past, but only grow from realizing what it means to us. Out of this tradition we can forge towards a hopeful future, neither forgetting nor refusing to let go of history. We have a responsibility to act for a better future, and Lamming articulates this in myriad splendid ways, through what he says is "one man's experience."