Dr Louise Hardwick has just launched her blog on French Caribbean author Joseph Zobel, who is best-known for his childhood memoir La Rue Cases-Nègres (1950).
Zobel’s clear and accessible prose has brought the French Caribbean to life for many generations of readers across the world. Yet despite his status as a canonical French Caribbean author, little is known about Zobel’s wider publications and international career. He published novels, short story collections and poetry, and lived in the Caribbean, Africa and France, where he interacted with the leading thinkers of the Negritude movement. He became a radio broadcaster in Africa, released a record of poetry, and in his later life, became fascinated by Japanese art. This blog aims to raise awareness of Zobel’s work by bringing him to new audiences in the UK and internationally. It is part of a wider academic research project into the life and work of Joseph Zobel, funded between 2014-2016 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom. Keep visiting the blog for updates on Louise's research project which is based here at the University of Birmingham!
