Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 14, 2000

Volume 28, Number 28

Library acquires papers
of noted Caribbean novelist

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has acquired the papers of novelist Caryl Phillips -- making him the first Caribbean author to join the library's extensive holdings of the papers of contemporary writers.

Born in 1958 on the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies, Phillips grew up in England, where he was educated at Oxford University. His first publications were the plays "Strange fruit," "Where there is darkness" and "The shelter," which were performed in London and Sheffield.

Phillips has also written six novels, two volumes of nonfiction and many scripts for film and television. He is a frequent contributor to British and American newspapers and to such periodicals as Bomb and The New Republic.

In his fiction, the author draws on his own experience in two cultures to describe the roots of racial prejudice in diverse historical settings. His most recent novel, "The Nature of Blood" (1997), is a multifaceted narrative told in part by a Holocaust survivor.

Phillips is currently professor of English and the Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order at Barnard College, Columbia University. He also is senior editor of the Faber and Faber Caribbean Series.

The author's archive now at the Beinecke Library includes holograph and typed drafts, notes and research materials relating to seven published books. In addition to "The Nature of Blood," these works include the travelogue "The European tribe" and the novels "Final passage," "A state of independence," "Higher ground," "Cambridge" and "Crossing the river," which was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1993. The Beinecke holdings also include Phillips'materials related to his work for film and television, and correspondence with such writers as Jamaica Kincaid, Peter Carey and Jamaican novelist Joan Riley, as well as exchanges with Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Charles Simic and Derek Walcott.

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