Editing Sam Selvon (section)

==Writing==
Selvon is best known for his novels ''[[The Lonely Londoners]]'' (1956) and ''Moses Ascending'' (1975). His novel ''A Brighter Sun'' (1952), detailing the construction of the [[Churchill-Roosevelt Highway]] in Trinidad through the eyes of young Indian worker Tiger, was a popular choice on the [[CXC]] [[English Literature]] [[syllabus]] for many years. Other notable works include the collection of stories ''Ways of Sunlight'' (1957), ''Turn Again Tiger'' (1958) and ''Those Who Eat the Cascadura'' (1972). During the 1960s and 1970s, Selvon converted several of his novels and stories into radio scripts, broadcast by the [[BBC]], which were collected in ''Eldorado West One'' ([[Peepal Tree Press]], 1988) and ''Highway in the Sun'' (Peepal Tree Press, 1991).

''The Lonely Londoners'', like most of Selvon's later work, focuses on the migration of West Indians to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, and tells, mostly in anecdotal form, the daily experience of settlers from Africa and the Caribbean. Selvon also illustrates the panoply of different subcultures that exist within London, as with any major city, due to class and racial boundaries. In many ways, his books are the precursors to works such as ''[[White Teeth]]'' (2000) by [[Zadie Smith]] and ''[[The Buddha of Suburbia (novel)|The Buddha of Suburbia]]'' (1990) by [[Hanif Kureishi]].<ref name="The British Library 2016">{{cite web | title=The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon | publisher=The British Library | date=25 April 2016 | url=https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-lonely-londoners-by-samuel-selvon | access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> Selvon explained: 
<blockquote>"When I wrote the novel that became ''The Lonely Londoners'', I tried to recapture a certain quality in West Indian everyday life. I had in store a number of wonderful anecdotes and could put them into focus, but I had difficulty starting the novel in straight English. The people I wanted to describe were entertaining people indeed, but I could not really move. At that stage, I had written the narrative in English and most of the dialogues in dialect. Then I started both narrative and dialogue in dialect and the novel just shot along."<ref>Fabre, Michel, "Samuel Selvon: Interviews and Conversations", in Susheila Nasta (ed.), ''Critical Perspectives on Sam Selvon'', Washington: Three Continents Press, 1988; p. 66.</ref></blockquote>In the late 1980s, Selvon wrote personal essays reflecting on his West Indian identity. These include "Three into one can't go – East Indian, Trinidadian or West Indian?" (1986), in which Selvon reflects on the complexities of being of East Indian heritage, born and raised in Trinidad, and of West Indian identity.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1986-09-01 |title=Three into one can't go – East Indian, Trinidadian or West Indian? Samuel Selvon Discusses the question of an East Indian identity |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02690058608574127 |access-date=2024-12-16 |journal=Wasafiri |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=8–11 |language=EN |doi=10.1080/02690058608574127|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He also wrote "Finding West Indian Identity in London" (1987), in which he reflects on developing a West Indian consciousness after immigrating to London in 1950.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Selvon |first=Sam |date=1987 |title=Finding West Indian Identity in London |url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Finding_West_Indian_Identity_in_London/27675486?file=50404932 |journal=Kunapipi |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=34–38}}</ref>

Selvon's papers are now at the [[Harry Ransom Center|Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center]] at the [[University of Texas, Austin]], USA. These consist of [[holograph|holograph manuscripts]], typescripts, book proofs, manuscript notebooks, and correspondence. Drafts for six of his 11 novels are present, along with supporting correspondence and items relating to his career.<ref>[http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead/00119.xml "Samuel Selvon]: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center".</ref>