ER Braithwaite

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ER Braithwaite (Photo: Carl van Vechten , 1962)

Edward Ricardo Braithwaite (born June 27, 1912 in Georgetown , † December 12, 2016 in Rockville , Maryland ) was a Guyanese writer and diplomat .

Life

Braithwaite's parents were both University of Oxford graduates ( history and engineering ), so he grew up in an educated and wealthy family. He first attended Queen's College in his hometown and then studied at the City College of New York , where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1940 . From 1941 to 1945 he served as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force . After the war he graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master of Science degree in physics (1949).

Since Braithwaite could not find a job in the industry because of his skin color , he worked from 1950 to 1957 as a teacher in London's East End , then from 1958 to 1960 as a welfare officer at London County Council , where it was his job to find foster families for black children . He processed the experiences from these two periods of life in the autobiographical novels To Sir, With Love (1959) and Paid Servant (1962).

In 1960 Braithwaite left London and went to Paris , where he worked as a human rights officer for the World Veterans Foundation until 1963 and then as a lecturer and education consultant for UNESCO until 1966 . 1967–68 he was Guyana’s permanent representative to the United Nations , 1968–69 Guyana’s ambassador to Venezuela . Publications of these years include the autobiographical report A Kind of Homecoming on a visit to Africa (1962), the novel Choice of Straws (1965) and the essay The 'Colored Immigrant' in Britain (1967); in the 1970s followed the equally autobiographical book Reluctant Neighbors (1972) and the travelogue 'Honorary White': A Visit to South Africa (1976).

Following his diplomatic career, Braithwaite was an English professor and writer in residence at New York University , Florida State University and Howard University ( Washington, DC ); on the latter he held courses in creative writing and edited the magazine Faces and Voices: An Anthology of Student Literature . He was also a board member of the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies at George Mason University ( Fairfax, Virginia ).

reception

Braithwaite's books are very successful in English-speaking countries to this day, but have also sparked controversy. On the one hand they were accused of simplicity and artlessness - mainly because of their mostly autobiographical character - on the other hand ideological reservations were expressed: Braithwaite treated the problem of racism from a purely individual point of view; For him, it is not about finding socio-political solutions, but rather describing his personal way of gaining moral superiority by combating his hatred and being willing to forgive. However, Braithwaite's accurate descriptions of the milieu are undisputed.

Awards

Braithwaite has received several awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (for To Sir, With Love , 1961) and the Franklin Prize, as well as honorary doctorates from the Universities of Oxford and Paris (Sorbonne) .

Works (selection)

  • To Sir, With Love (1959)
  • Paid Servant (1962)
  • A Kind of Homecoming (1962)
  • Choice of Straws (1965)
  • Reluctant Neighbors (1972)
  • 'Honorary White': A visit to South Africa (1976)

filming

The autobiographical novel To Sir, With Love was made into a film in 1967 with Sidney Poitier in the lead role, Braithwaite bearing the name Mark Thackeray here. In Germany the film received the title Young Thorns , Later Challenged .

literature

  • FM Birbalsingh: "To John Bull, With Hate". In: Caribbean Quarterly 14 (1968), pp. 74-81.
  • Donald E. Herdeck (Ed.): Caribbean Writers. A Bio-Bibliographical-Critical Encyclopedia . Three Continents Press, Washington DC 1979. pp. 34f.
  • A. James Arnold (Ed.): A History of Literature in the Caribbean . Vol. 2: English- and Dutch-Speaking Regions . Benjamin, Amsterdam / Philadelphia 2001. p. 134.
  • John McLeod: "Lessons from London: ER Braithwaite and Black Writing in 1950s Britain". In: The Yearbook of English Studies 42 (2012), pp. 64–78.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 'To Sir, With Love' author ER Braithwaite dies . AP article at WEAU-News , December 13, 2016, accessed on December 13, 2016 (English).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Braithwaite, ER
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Braithwaite, Edward Ricardo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guyanese writer and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Georgetown
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 2016
Place of death Rockville , Maryland