Originary Violations : Discursive Constructions of Caribbean Motherhood and Motherlands

Caribbean motherhood reflects a complex interplay of ancestry and diaspora shaped by both violence and resilience. Originary Violations investigates how female embodiment, sexuality and maternal power were defined by the histories of slavery and colonialism as well as by social hierarchies built on race, class, gender and nationality. It considers the ways legacies of trauma and dispossession continue to shape family life, patterns of migration, cultural expression and the Caribbean landscape itself.

The volume brings together the voices of Caribbean writers and artists such as Erna Brodber, Olive Senior, Dionne Brand, Kei Miller, Marlon James and Derek Walcott. Through their fiction, poetry and art, they reveal how violence, loss and cultural struggles continue to leave marks on Caribbean people and landscapes. At the same time, their work also opens space for healing and new beginnings. By moving beyond only women’s voices, this book adds men’s perspectives as well, offering a richer understanding of motherhood and identity in the Caribbean.