Austin Clarke

(1934) from a young age wanted to flee the Caribbean island of Barbados where he grew up. The British education he received was helpful in this. After finishing his education he taught at a country school, and then left for Canada to study economy and politics. As a freelance journalist he made documentaries about the black population of North America and England for the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation. He was awarded the Commonwealth Writers Prize for his novel Mijn leven in schande (The Polished Hoe) (2005). In this novel the character Mary- Mathilda tells the story of her life as a mistress of a plantation owner and the collective experiences of a society that was formed by colonialism and slavery. In his work Clarke evokes the sensuality of the tropics and the tragic wealth of this island culture.