A Small Place

Jamaica Kincaid, the author of the text, was born in St. John’s, Antigua in 1949 as Elaine Potter Richardson. She changed her name when she started writing. At 16, Kincaid was pulled out of school, and at 17, she was sent to the US to work as an au pair. She stayed in the US and continues to live there, teaching African Studies at Harvard University. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, focusing on themes of colonialism, racism, gender, education, and gardening. For her numerous works, she has received literary awards, lifetime achievement awards, and honorary degrees.

In the book, Kincaid narrates from the third person but infuses the text with occasional first-person narration, enhancing her arguments with her own memories and opinions about “the Antigua that I knew” (23). The text makes it clear that Kincaid has left Antigua and returned, as her recollections of the island span from her childhood to a more recent visit, when she speaks to various people about the state of the library. Kincaid’s narrative voice is angry and accusative because she’s frustrated with the state of her home country. She’s even angrier that Antigua existed as a colonial state at all.