Banjo (Black Classics) - Softcover

McKay, Claude

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1902934040 ISBN 13: 9781902934044

Publisher: The X Press, 2000

Synopsis

Lincoln 'Banjo' Daily doesn't see what slavery has to do with music. He plays the banjo because he likes to. He is just one of a colony of drifters who have settled on the tough waterfront of Marseilles in the 1920s. They panhandle by day, and at night do the rounds of the brawling bistros. They drink, look for women, dance, play music, make love and fight, and they talk about their homes in Senegal, the Caribbean and the United States: about Garvey's 'back-to-Africa' movement, and about being black. A journey which leads some of them to discovering their African roots and a sense of belonging to a race 'weighed, tested and poised in the universal scheme'.

About this title

Review:

An unforgettable picture of waterfront life in Marseilles (The Nation)

A vigorous and full-blooded piece of writing...extraordinarily well done...packed with incident (Times Literary Supplement)

This lively, invigorating read paints a vivid picture of 1920s France. (Amina Taylor Pride 2008-12-01)

[A]n interesting and vibrant piece of writing which has withstood the test of time. (Steve Andrew Morning Star 2008-12-08)

Banjo deals with race, politics and African identity but never in a heavy-handed way...Fascinating stuff. (Doug Johnstone The List 2008-12-11)

A picaresque, politicised novel pulsing with life (Claire Allfree Metro 2009-01-22)

From the Back Cover:

'A true pioneer of literary transnationalism ... McKay is a writer who understood that for a great number of twentieth century people, "imaginary homelands" are often more real than the places they presently inhabit. Nowhere is this engagement with "home" and longing, and belonging, more dynamically demonstrated than in his great "French" novel, Banjo.' - Caryl Phyllips Lincoln Agrippa Daily, known to his drifter cohorts on the 1920s Marseille waterfront as Banjo, passes his days panhandling and dreaming of starting his own little band. At night Banjo and his buddies prowl the rough waterfront bistros, drinking, looking for women, playing music, fighting, loving, and talking - about their homes in Senegal, the West Indies, or the American South; about Garvey's Back-to-Africa Movement; about being black.When Ray, a writer, joins the group, it triggers Banjo's rediscovery of his African roots and his feeling that, at last, he belongs to a race weighted, tested and poised in the universal scheme. 'A vigorous and full-blooded piece of writing ... extraordinaril well done ... packed with incident' Times Literary Supplement

About this edition

• Publisher: The X Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1902934040
• ISBN 13: 9781902934044
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240