M. NourbeSe Philip
Encyclopedia
Marlene Nourbese Philip usually credited as M. NourbeSe Philip, is a Canadian
poet
, novelist, playwright
, essay
ist and short story
writer.
, Philip was educated at the University of the West Indies
. She subsequently pursued graduate degrees in political science
and law
at the University of Western Ontario
, and practised law in Toronto, Ontario
for seven years. She left her law practise in 1983 to devote time to her writing.
Philip is known for experimentation with literary form and for her commitment to social justice…. Though her writing suggests an in-depth understanding of the canon, Philip's career undoubtedly helped to free her from the constraints of tradition and to nurture her social analysis and criticism.
Philip has published three books of poetry, two novels, three books of collected essays and two plays. Her short stories, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in magazines and journals in North America and England and her poetry has been extensively anthologized. Her work - poetry, fiction and non-fiction is taught widely at the university level and is the subject of much academic writing and critique.
Her first novel, Harriet's Daughter (1988), is widely used in high school curricula in Ontario, Great Britain
and was, for a decade, studied by all children in the Caribbean
receiving a high school CXC diploma. It has also been published as an audio cassette, a script for stage and a German language edition. Although categorized as young adult literature, Harriet’s Daughter is a book that can appeal to older children and adults of all ages. Set in Toronto, this novel explores the themes of friendship, self-image, ethics and migration while telling a story that is riveting, funny and technically accomplished. It makes the fact of being Black a very positive and enhancing experience.
Philip’s most renowned poetry book, She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks, was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize
for Literature while still in manuscript form. As she explores themes of race, place, gender, colonialism and, always, language, Philip plays with words, bending and restating them in a way that is reminiscent of jazz. The tension between father tongue (the white Euro-Christian male canon), and mother tongue (Black African female) is always present. Most quoted is the chant-like refrain at the core of Discourse on the Logic of Language:
... and English is
my mother tongue
is
my father tongue
is a foreign lan lan lang
language
l/anguish
anguish...
Philip is a prolific essayist. Her articles and essays … demonstrate a persistent critique and an impassioned concern for issues of social justice and equity in the arts, prompting Selwyn R. Cudjoe's assertion that Philip "serves as a lightning rod of black cultural defiance of the Canadian mainstream." More to the point is the epigram in Frontiers where Philip dedicates the book to Canada, 'in the effort of becoming a space of true belonging'.
It is as an essayist that M. NourbeSe Philip’s role as anti-racist activist is most evident. She was one of the first to make culture her primary focus as she argued passionately and articulately for social justice and equity. Specific controversial events that have been the focus of her essays include the Into the Heart of Africa exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum
, the Toronto production of Show Boat, and Caribana. Her essays also put the spotlight on racial representation on arts councils and committees in Canada and there have been definite advances in this area subsequently. It was at a small demonstration concerning the lack of Canadian writers of colour outside of the 1989 PEN Canada gala, that she was confronted by June Callwood
.
Philip has also taught at the University of Toronto
, taught creative fiction at the third year level at York University
and has been writer in residence at McMaster University
and University of Windsor
.
Her most recent work, Zong! (2008), is based on a legal decision at the end of the eighteenth century, related to the murder of Africans on board a slave ship
. A dramatized reading of this new poem cycle, was workshopped and presented at Harbourfront in Toronto as part of rock.paper.sistahz in 2006. Poems from this collection have been published in Facture, boundary 2 and Fascicle; the later includes four poems, along with an extensive introduction.
In talking about her own work Philip has said, "fiction is about telling lies, but you must be scathingly honest in telling those lies. Poetry is about truth telling, but you need the lie - the artifice of the form to tell those truths."
Scholar Rinaldo Walcott
has engaged critically with the work of M. NourbeSe Philip His essay "No Language is Neutral": The Politics of Performativity in M. Nourbese Philip's and Dionne Brand's Poetry published in the book Black Like Who?
is a strong example of this scholarly engagement.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
ist and short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer.
Life and Works
Born in the Caribbean Woodlands, Moriah, Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Philip was educated at the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
. She subsequently pursued graduate degrees in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, and practised law in Toronto, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
for seven years. She left her law practise in 1983 to devote time to her writing.
Philip is known for experimentation with literary form and for her commitment to social justice…. Though her writing suggests an in-depth understanding of the canon, Philip's career undoubtedly helped to free her from the constraints of tradition and to nurture her social analysis and criticism.
Philip has published three books of poetry, two novels, three books of collected essays and two plays. Her short stories, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in magazines and journals in North America and England and her poetry has been extensively anthologized. Her work - poetry, fiction and non-fiction is taught widely at the university level and is the subject of much academic writing and critique.
Her first novel, Harriet's Daughter (1988), is widely used in high school curricula in Ontario, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and was, for a decade, studied by all children in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
receiving a high school CXC diploma. It has also been published as an audio cassette, a script for stage and a German language edition. Although categorized as young adult literature, Harriet’s Daughter is a book that can appeal to older children and adults of all ages. Set in Toronto, this novel explores the themes of friendship, self-image, ethics and migration while telling a story that is riveting, funny and technically accomplished. It makes the fact of being Black a very positive and enhancing experience.
Philip’s most renowned poetry book, She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks, was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize
Casa de las Américas Prize
The Casa de las Américas Prize is a Cuban cultural award given by the Casa de las Américas, an organization founded in April 1959. It is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary awards....
for Literature while still in manuscript form. As she explores themes of race, place, gender, colonialism and, always, language, Philip plays with words, bending and restating them in a way that is reminiscent of jazz. The tension between father tongue (the white Euro-Christian male canon), and mother tongue (Black African female) is always present. Most quoted is the chant-like refrain at the core of Discourse on the Logic of Language:
my mother tongue
is
my father tongue
is a foreign lan lan lang
language
l/anguish
anguish...
Philip is a prolific essayist. Her articles and essays … demonstrate a persistent critique and an impassioned concern for issues of social justice and equity in the arts, prompting Selwyn R. Cudjoe's assertion that Philip "serves as a lightning rod of black cultural defiance of the Canadian mainstream." More to the point is the epigram in Frontiers where Philip dedicates the book to Canada, 'in the effort of becoming a space of true belonging'.
It is as an essayist that M. NourbeSe Philip’s role as anti-racist activist is most evident. She was one of the first to make culture her primary focus as she argued passionately and articulately for social justice and equity. Specific controversial events that have been the focus of her essays include the Into the Heart of Africa exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
, the Toronto production of Show Boat, and Caribana. Her essays also put the spotlight on racial representation on arts councils and committees in Canada and there have been definite advances in this area subsequently. It was at a small demonstration concerning the lack of Canadian writers of colour outside of the 1989 PEN Canada gala, that she was confronted by June Callwood
June Callwood
June Rose Callwood, was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was born in Chatham, Ontario and grew up in nearby Belle River.-Early life and career:...
.
Philip has also taught at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, taught creative fiction at the third year level at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and has been writer in residence at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
and University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
.
Her most recent work, Zong! (2008), is based on a legal decision at the end of the eighteenth century, related to the murder of Africans on board a slave ship
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
. A dramatized reading of this new poem cycle, was workshopped and presented at Harbourfront in Toronto as part of rock.paper.sistahz in 2006. Poems from this collection have been published in Facture, boundary 2 and Fascicle; the later includes four poems, along with an extensive introduction.
In talking about her own work Philip has said, "fiction is about telling lies, but you must be scathingly honest in telling those lies. Poetry is about truth telling, but you need the lie - the artifice of the form to tell those truths."
Scholar Rinaldo Walcott
Rinaldo Walcott
Rinaldo Walcott is a Black Canadian academic and writer, currently employed as an associate professor at OISE/University of Toronto in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. He was previously an assistant professor in the Division of Humanities at York University...
has engaged critically with the work of M. NourbeSe Philip His essay "No Language is Neutral": The Politics of Performativity in M. Nourbese Philip's and Dionne Brand's Poetry published in the book Black Like Who?
Black Like Who?
Black Like Who? is Rinaldo Walcott's first book. It was published in 1997 by Insomniac Press in Toronto.This book came out of Walcott's PhD research which focused on rap music and culture. The essays in Black Like Who? demonstrate Walcott's expanded interest concerning the theorizing of Black...
is a strong example of this scholarly engagement.
Poetry
- Thorns (1980)
- Salmon Courage (1983)
- She Tries Her Tongue, Her Silence Softly Breaks (1989)
- Discourse on the Logic of Language (1989)
- Zong! (2008)
Novels
- Harriet's Daughter (1988)
- Looking for Livingstone: An Odyssey of Silence (1991)
Essays
- Frontiers: Essays and Writings on Racism and Culture (1992)
- Showing Grit: Showboating North of the 44th Parallel (1993)
- CARIBANA: African Roots and Continuities - Race, Space and the Poetics of Moving (1996)
- Genealogy of Resistance and Other Essays (1997)
Awards
- Casa de las Americas prize for the manuscript version of the poetry book, She Tries Her Tongue... 1998
- Tradewinds Collective (Trinidad & Tobago) Poetry –1st prize, 1988 & Short Story –1st prize, 1988
- Canadian Library Association prize for children's literature, runner up, for Harriet's Daughter - 1989
- Max and Greta Abel Award for Multicultural Literature, first runner up for Harriet's Daughter - 1989
- Guggenheim Fellow, in poetry – 1990
- McDowell Fellow – 1991
- Lawrence Foundation Award for the short story Stop Frame published in the journal Prairie Schooner - 1995
- Toronto Arts Award in writing and publishing, finalist–1995
- Rebels for a Cause award, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto –2001
- Woman of Distinction award in the Arts, YWCA - 2001
- Chalmers Fellowship in Poetry – 2002
- Rockefeller Foundation residency in Bellagio, Italy - 2005.