Negotiating identity in diaspora : memory and belonging in Dionne Brand's Land to light on and Austin Clarke's The origin of waves

Inhabitants of contemporary diasporas may have no desire to return to a homeland, but their experiences of displacement from their 'homes', and the memories they choose to carry with them help shape their identities in diaspora.This thesis will examine two texts of first-generation Caribbean Canadian writers, Austin Clarke and Dionne Brand, to investigate how coming to terms with the memories of self and homeland is crucial in forging a place of belonging in diaspora.By analyzingClarke'sThe Orígin of Waves and Brand' s Land to Light On, I will argue that while both authors approach negotiating diaspora differently, ultimately both challenge the notions of fixity of identity and belonging, while at the same time realizingdifferent outcomes.The study will show that although both texts advocate the fluidity, if not the rejection, of identity, Brand responds to this notion by extending her work to a global perspective, whereas Clark, in his text, appears to promote aretreaf.fromthe present as an approach to negotiating diaspora.ilI Chapter IThe Immigrant Writer's Landscape flJdentity is always a question of producing in thefuture an account of the past, that is to say it is always about narrative, the stories which cultures tell themselves about who they are and where they came from.Stuart Hall "Negotiating Caribbean ldentities" (3) Writers inhabiting Canada's recent diasporas are emerging as a significant force on its contemporary literary landscape.Among those writers are migrants from the former British colonies in the Caribbean, who have been settling in Canada since the mid-1950s.Their distinctly postcolonial writings not only reflect experiences of the Caribbean diaspora, at times in tandem with colonial experiences of home, but also provide a gauge of how inhabitants of diaspora negotiate identity as they situate themselves within a Canadian context.Although not unique, the Caribbean diaspora is complicated by its inhabitants' histories and ethnic diversity, and it is from this background that I explore how Caribbean Canadian writers draw on memory of their homelands to locate their place and identity within their host country.In keeping with Stuart Hall's epigraph, I agree that the narratives of a culture are the best places to look when defining a people.Furthermore, I propose that Wendy W. Walters' contention that "diasporic identity is performed in writing" (viii), and that it is "more than a literaryperformance; it is [...] a political act" (ix) is confirmed in the ways Caribbean Canadian writers depict experiences of diaspora and home that expose fissures in the social and political fabrics of both places.Hall's and Walters' claims are the point of departure for my thesis that examines two texts by first-generation Caribbean Canadian writers, Austin Clarke and Dionne Brand, to investigate how coming to terms with the memories of self and homeland is crucial in forging aplace of belonging in diaspora.By analyzing and comparing Clarke's The Origin of lhavest and Brand' s Land to Light On2,Iwill arguethat while the authors approach negotiating diaspora differently, ultimately both challenge the notions of fixity of identity and belonging, while at the same time realizing different outcomes.The study will show that Brand's text advocates fluidity, if not rejection, of identity that moves her characters beyond the local to a more global perspective in negotiating diaspora.In contrast, Clarke, whose text also resists stability of identity, appears content to promote a retreat from the present, and, as a result, leaves his characters in diasporic limbo. Caribbean Diasporic WritingSince the middle of the last century Caribbean immigrants have been streaming into Canada carcying not only their material possessions, but also armed with experiences, traditions, and history that fashioned their lives in the places they lived before.But once they arrive, what of their life in the host country?How do these immigrants participate fully and develop a sense of belonging in their new setting?I The Origin of Ll/aves will be referred to as I4/øves in the thesis.' Lqnd to Light On will be referred to as Land in the thesis.

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