Literary Landscapes: Black London in Caleb Nelson’s Open Water and Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners

What is the course about?

“Sometimes the words freeze and you have to melt it to hear the talk.”
-Sam Selvon, ‘The Lonely Londoners’

“The train pulls in and she taps her Oyster card on the reader, stepping on board. You both wave as the doors close…She escapes the frame, until it is just you on the platform, a little breathless, a little ecstatic, a little sad.”
-Caleb Nelson, ‘Open Water’

This online literature course explores the techniques novelists Caleb Nelson and Sam Selvon use to decolonise both the city and genre by rewriting the post-colonial capital in their own image.

We will discover how through character and plot devices these authors of contrasting eras flex the boundaries of the novel and map their own metaphors onto London’s literary landscape. We will also enjoy how both Nelson and Selvon populate the former hub of the British empire with their own people, language and symbolism.

Along the way, you will:
- be given an introduction to key critical terms of black literature such as postcolonialism, identity, migration and oral storytelling.
- gain greater awareness of the British novel tradition
- gain greater knowledge of a minoritized people who have been repeatedly placed at the margins of a dominant discourse although considerably contributing to the social, economic and cultural life of the city

Biography:
Trained at Cambridge University and UCL, Jessica Wilson is British-born of Jamaican descent and flits between Montego Bay and London. She has six fiction books focussed on the Caribbean, West African and Black British experience set for release within the next 3 years. She was a participant within Penguin Random House's 'WriteNow', shortlisted for an Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and, most recently, the recipient of the Royal Society of Authors' Arthur Welton Award for poetry. Her first book, 'Sofia the Dreamer and Her Magical Afro' was a National Poetry Day Recommended Read and was endorsed by Benjamin Zephaniah and Afua Hirsch.

What will we cover?

- By using Louise Bennett’s poem entitled ‘Colonization in Reverse’ we will explore themes of migration, multiculturalism and cultural identity relating to the black British experience.
- Through comparative studies of ‘The Lonely Londoners’ and ‘Open Water’, we will analyse black London post-Windrush and now, understanding the city as a vibrant, living, labyrinthine character.
- We will situate both texts within the broader British literary traditions (with specific reference to predecessors such as T.S. Eliot and Dickens) and cover a preliminary introduction to black British literature.
- We will explore literary devices and terms, specifically, symbolism, plot, polyphony and language.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- understand the basic workings of the novel
- analyse the literary techniques of Selvon and Nelson’s depictions of London’s immigrant experience
- evaluate how these authors present themes of migration, identity, and multiculturalism
- compare and contextualise their approaches to narrating London and the evolving novel form
- situate both novels within historical and cultural contexts, such as Windrush.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This course is open to all, from beginners to those with some literary study experience. A passion for reading and discussing literature is helpful.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

The sessions will run in a seminar style and all students will be invited to take part in discussions led by the tutor. It would be beneficial to read both novels before the course starts but this is not essential, as the tutor will provide specific sections which you will be focussing on during each class. However, reading the novels will enhance your experience of class sessions.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please buy or borrow copies of:
‘The Lonely Londoners’ by Sam Selvon (Penguin Modern Classics, 2006)
‘Open Water’ by Caleb Nelson (Viking, 2002)
Extracts and other materials will be provided by the tutor.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

Look for other fiction courses on our website under history, culture & writing/literature/fiction at www.citylit.ac.uk.