The beginnings
To say that Belizean literature was truly born with independence would, of course, be to overlook the mixed race of the population, which in itself rhymes with literary heritage. For example, the arts (dance, music and oral tradition) of the Garifunas - most of whose population reside in this country after a long and difficult history - were included on the list of the world's intangible cultural heritage by Unesco in 2016. In addition, a number of authors had ventured down poetic paths long before 1981, following the example of James Sullivan Martínez who, as early as the 1920s, had completed what is considered the country's first exceptional collection: Caribbean Jingles. Self-taught and never having attended high school, he was an experimenter: his Creole writing was as simple as the images his verses evoked were powerful. He was followed by another poet, Raymond Barrow (1920-2006), who, although a lawyer by profession, did not neglect to tease the muse, some of his works having been included in international anthologies. His most famous poem is Dawn is a Fisherman. Four years his junior and born in Mexico to Belizean parents, Nicholas Pollard cut his teeth in politics, becoming one of the founding members of the PUP (People's United Party) in 1950. He also took up his pen, which he continued to write until the end of his life in 2003.
A more discreet man, Leo Bradley (1926-2001) can no longer escape the tributes paid to him. In addition to his literary work - including Looking at our Literature, Among my Souvenir and Belizeian Flavor - he offered his country his skills as a librarian, setting up a system of professional training and multiplying services for users. Georges Gabb was also widely recognized for his talent as a sculptor, his literary works (poems and plays) and his commitment to the Creole language, which included the collection of proverbs in Naked Eye. Colville Young continued this work of collecting proverbs, and in addition to his duties as Governor General of Belize from 1993 to 2021, made no secret of his love of the arts - he wrote operas, poems, short stories... - nor of his interest in his country's culture. He published bilingual English-Creole collections of Belizean poems(De One Caribbean Corner and Caribbean Corner Calling) and contributed to the development of the University. Finally, two authors were to mark the turning point that literature was about to take in the early '80s: Felicia O. Hernandez and John Alexander Watler. The former, born in 1932 in Dangriga and a teacher, lived in various parts of Belize before moving to the United States, where she obtained a degree in creative writing. Her first published novel dates from 1978(I dont' know you, but I love you), with subsequent novels following independence(These Ridiculous Years in 1982, Narenga in 1983...). For his part, John Alexander Watler (1938-2015) first made a name for himself with his radio dramas, which made him one of the leading exponents of Creole culture. Drawing his inspiration from folklore, history and ecological issues, he also took to the stage, where he performed alone as a skilled storyteller. It was only later that he tried his hand at novels(Cry Among Rainclouds in 2001, Sea Lotto in 2004, etc.)
The turning point
However, it was Beka Lamb that marked a turning point and, above all, an opening, as it became the first Belizean novel to receive international recognition, being awarded the Fawcett Society Prize in the very year of its publication in 1982. It has to be said that in this first opus, published as Zee Edgell entered her forties, this University of Westminster journalism graduate did not hesitate to tackle highly political issues. Thus, her female character - who gives her name to the book and is only 14 years old - finds herself confronted with very real ordeals: poverty, the fight for the right to education, gender discrimination... all against the backdrop of the struggle for independence. Zee Edgell continued her writing, exploring the history of her native country and publishing several other novels, including In Time Like These in 1991 and Time and the River in 2007. She certainly remains Belize's greatest writer today, despite her death in Missouri in 2020 at the age of 80.
It's safe to assume that Zee Edgell revolutionized Belizean literature, and it's safe to say that she paved the way for women writers. We should also mention at least two of them, who also contributed to the anthology Memories, Dreams and Nightmares: Corinth Morter-Lewis, who was born in Belize City in 1942, and Myrna Manzanares, who died at the age of 75 in 2021. Both made significant contributions to their country's culture: the former as president of her country's university and poet(Heritage: A Poem Read at the First Belize Black Summut, Moments in Time), the latter as an activist for equality between peoples and an ardent advocate of the Creole language. Her work includes transcribing folk tales from the oral tradition and compiling a dictionary, as well as the more personal poetic collection Life Lines. Their male counterpart Glenn Godfrey, although a Stanford graduate in English literature, has also taken an interest in his country, writing both historical works(Ambergris Caye) and fiction in parallel with his political career, including The Sinner's Bossanova, in which a woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock has to flee her family's vindictiveness. Of Garifuna origin, Zoila Ellis Browne has also been involved in the fight for the rights of women and indigenous peoples, taking on a number of responsibilities following her law studies. She published a collection of short stories entitled Heroes, Lizards and Passion, which was very well received. Finally, after a somewhat chaotic start, Leroy Young distinguished himself in the particular genre of dub poetry, a poetic form relying heavily on improvisation that emerged in the Jamaican community in the late 70s. No doubt a sign that Belizean literature has not finished reinventing itself.
