Eric Walrond: The Critical Heritage

Eric Walrond (1898-1966), author of Tropic Death (1926), remains a seminal but elusive figure in Harlem Renaissance and Caribbean diasporic literature. Although this collection remains his only major text, Walrond was in fact quite prolific, penning several more fictions and journalistic writings. Born in British Guiana (Guyana), he endured a peripatetic existence, beleaguered at every turn by those colonial crises and conflicts that constitute the central concerns of his fiction and journalism.

Despite the enduring popularity of Tropic Death, there has been little sustained critical examination of Walrond’s achievement. In Eric Walrond: The Critical Heritage, Louis J. Parascandola and Carl A. Wade address this deficiency, fashioning the first critical anthology on Walrond. The ten essays in this volume employ a variety of literary, cultural and sociological approaches to illuminate the art and imagination of a writer celebrated as one of the most complex authors of the Harlem Renaissance. Included in the collection are two early commentaries by noted West Indian critic Kenneth Ramchand (his article is revised for this volume) and the late American scholar Robert Bone, as well as contributions by more contemporary voices. This comprehensive dissection of Walrond’s life and writings reveals an oeuvre that still has much to contribute to discussions about modern black literary and cultural studies.