Quick!!
Which books shaped your moral sensitivities in high school?
Sure the Bible of course, but were there other authors whose work fired your imagination and caused you to read by flashlight or a lamp, when everyone else was asleep?
Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, were two authors who took me on the journey of Victorian living and the rugged demands of living in that era.
Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House, The Pickwick Papers were just some of the novels that molded by imagination about being a young man.
Then there was Mark Twain. Huck Finn, and Tom Sawyer took me on many boyish adventures.
The Novel- feeding your imagination
Ah, the power of the novel to shape our thinking. The novel is a fictional piece written in a narrative style. They tell stories, which are typically defined as a series of events. The novel has been a part of human culture estimated over a thousand years. This powerful literary device has been used to cleverly emotionally move the reader in ways not possible with a full frontal delivery of truth.
The stratification of the Jamaican society is reflected in its language, and skin color dilemmas, but there are treated as the elephant in the room that no one seem to notice.
Diana McCaulay , Jamaican writer
Well Diana McCaulay has entered the orb of the novelist by deploying this literary device to bring us to a place to deal with some of our unspoken societal issues. In her first novel, Dog-Heart, she skillfully deals with the complexities of race and class in Jamaica.
We had the distinct opportunity to catch up with her and understand the motivation behind her award winning novel.
Click to listen to Diana’s wisdom.
Find out why her two national awards are much deserved.
This her debut novel, Dog-Heart, won a highly commended award in the National Book Development Council of Jamaica’s National Literary Awards in 2006, a Gold Medal in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s National Creative Writing Competition in 2008 and was published by Peepal Tree Press in March 2010.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein
Thank you for a great column, George. I don’t know if I can brace myself for more lies. It is so heartbreaking to hear the ignorant, uninformed citizens of this country yell and scream and to know they are egged on by elected representatives of this country who should know better. Maybe I will just stop watching the news and reading the newspapers. It’s too tragic.
Having lived in a more compassionate country, Canada, for all my life I can only imagine how you feel. Just yesterday I spent the entire day in hospital because of chest pain. Today I have an appointment with my family doctor for a follow up. The cost? “ZERO, ZIP, NADA”!!! And I would warrant that our taxes are no higher than in the U.S., if as high. So here’s a formal invitation. Come on up!!! We are the second largest country in the world with a relatively small population. You will be most welcome.