Jamaica Kincaid (b. Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson, 25 May 1949 in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda) is an American novelist, gardener, and gardening writer. She lives with her family at North Bennington in the U.S. state of Vermont. is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... St Johns is the capital city of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. ... North Bennington is a village located in Bennington County, Vermont. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 45th  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ...

Early life

Kincaid lived with her stepfather, a carpenter, and her mother until 1965. In Antigua, she completed her secondary education under the British system, due to Antigua's status as a British colony until 1967. A stepfamily is the family one acquires when a parent marries someone new. ... Carpenter at work in Tennessee, June 1942. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ...

She came to New York at the age of 17 to work for a family as an au pair. She worked as a fact checker at Forbes magazine where she became close friends with Marsha Daniel of Raleigh, North Carolina who was working at Forbes as a reporter and her husband, the author, magazine publisher, and professor Myles Ludwig, who was then the editorial director of Art Direction magazine and later the creative director at Penthouse and Viva magazines, and Peter Ainsley who was the music critic for Womens Wear Daily and later worked as a writer for Time magazine. They spent a great deal of time together. Ludwig, Daniel, Richardson and Ainslie spent many weekends in the early 70s with Christopher Tree. Tree was a California hippie who played a variety of musical instruments in a performance act called Spontaneous Sound. Tree was living in a small house in New Paltz, New York with his then girlfriend on a non-working farm owned by an advertising executive. After Richardson had returned to university, she wrote to Ludwig asking for a job and he hired her to work at Art Direction. She went on to study photography at the New School for Social Research. She attended Franconia College in New Hampshire for a year and later worked at the New Yorker magazine. “NY” redirects here. ... Au pair is an anglicization of the French term au pair, which means on par or equal to and describes a young person living on an equal basis with a host family in a foreign country. ... Photography [fÓ™tÉ‘grÓ™fi:],[foÊŠtÉ‘grÓ™fi:] is the process of recording pictures by means of capturing light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a film or electronic sensor. ... New School University is an institute of higher learning in New York City. ... Franconia College was a small experimental liberal arts college in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,350 sq mi (24,217 km²)  - Width 68 miles (110 km)  - Length 190 miles (305 km)  - % water 4. ...

Writing career

In 1973, she changed her name to Jamaica Kincaid because her family disapproved of her writing. For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ...

Her first writing experience involved a series of articles for Ingenue magazine. Ingenue is a stock character in literature, film and theatre. ...

She worked for The New Yorker as a staff writer until 1995. The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ...

Her novel Lucy (1990) is an imaginative account of her experience of coming into adulthood in a foreign country, and continues the narrative of her personal history begun in the novel Annie John (1985). Other novels, such as The Autobiography of My Mother (1996) explore issues of colonialism and much of the anger associated with it. This text is a unique departure for Kincaid because of the way it crosses genres. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Annie John, a novel written by Jamaica Kincaid in 1985, details the growth of a girl in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ...

She has also published a collection of short stories, At the Bottom of the River (1983), a collection of essays, A Small Place and more. This article is in need of attention. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Essay, a short work that treats of a topic from an authors personal point of view, often taking into account subjective experiences and personal reflections upon them. ... A Small Place is an essay published in 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid. ...

She is a visiting professor and teaches creative writing at Harvard University. A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Creative writing is a term used to distinguish certain imaginative or different types of writing from technical writing. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

"I'm someone who writes to save her life," Kincaid says, "I mean, I can't imagine what I would do if I didn't write. I would be dead or I would be in jail because -- what else could I do? I can't really do anything but write. All the things that were available to someone in my position involved being a subject person. And I'm very bad at being a subject person."

Family

She has two children, a boy, Harold, and a girl, Annie, with her ex-husband, the composer Allen Shawn (the son of The New Yorker's longtime editor William Shawn). Allen Shawn (b. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... William Shawn (August 31, 1907-December 8, 1992) was an American magazine editor who edited The New Yorker from 1952 until 1987. ...

Works

• "Girl," short story (June 26, 1978, appeared in The New Yorker)
• At the Bottom of the River (1983)
• Annie John (1985)
• A Small Place (1988)
• Annie, Gwen, Lilly, Pam, and Tulip (1989)
• Lucy (1990)
• Biography of a Dress (1990)
• "On Seeing England for the First Time," essay (1991, appeared in Harper's Magazine)
• The Autobiography of My Mother (1995)
• My Brother (1997)
• My Favorite Plant: Writers and Gardeners on the Plants they Love (editor; 1998)
• My Garden (1999)
• Talk Stories (2000)
• My Garden (2001)
• Mr. Potter (2002)
• Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalayas (2005)
• Figures in the Distance
• Life and Debt Film (2001)

is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Annie John, a novel written by Jamaica Kincaid in 1985, details the growth of a girl in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean. ... A Small Place is an essay published in 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Lucy (1990) is a short novel by Jamaica Kincaid. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... An issue of Harpers from 1905 November 2004 issue Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, left perspective. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Life and Debt is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stephanie Black. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• Voices from the Gaps biography
• Literary Encyclopedia biography
• Salon Interview with Jamaica Kincaid (circa 1999?)
• 1991 RealAudio interview with Jamaica Kincaid by Don Swaim
• Resource for more information on Autobiography of My Mother