Jan Shinebourne
Jan Lowe Shinebourne (born 1947), also published as Janice Shinebourne, is a Guyanese novelist who now lives in England.[1] Being of Chinese ancestry and from Guyana allows her to represent a shared cultural experience that is very dynamic. She is praised for having a strong literary impact through her representations of the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora. Being able to provide an insight into Chinese-Caribbean culture is what has really enabled Shinebourne to have a distinguishing and rare voice in literature. [2]
Background
Born in Canje, Berbice, Guyana, she was educated at Berbice High School and the University of Guyana. After school she was a reporter in Georgetown. She began writing in the mid-1960s and in 1974 was a prize-winner in the National History and Arts Council Literary Competition. In 1970 she emigrated to London, England where she lived for forty years. While living in England she developed a friendship with writer and publisher, John La Rose, whom introduced her to many people that would have an influence of her career. [3] She did postgraduate literary studies at the University of London.[4][5]
Works
Jan Lowe Shinebourne is the author of many Asian diaspora novels. She is one of two authors who emerged in the 1980s with the first Caribbean Chinese writings, the other being Meiling Jin. Shinebourne's work represents the history of Chinese laborers who migrated to Guyana in smaller numbers than Indians. Through her own upbringing and experiences she is able to portray the raw sense of womanhood, sexuality, and the limitations of patriarchy that she often writes about in her novels. [6]
Jan Lowe Shinebourne has had a successful career as an author. One of her famous most novels is, The Last English Plantation (1988). This is a fast paced novel set in the 1950s that gives insight to two weeks of a young girl's life in Guyana during a time of turmoil.[7] In the novel, June Lehall, attends her first few days of secondary school before a revolt erupts at the village sugar plantation that causes June and her village to take a second look at Guyana and it's ongoing racial tensions. June is forced to face the breakdown of the British plantation system while addressing questions of her individualism. This novel is a great example of Asian diaspora literature and the struggles small countries like Guyana live with.[8]
Timepiece (1986), is one of Shinebournes first popular novels. After being offered a job as a reporter, Sandra Yansen, must leave behind her home village to go to Georgetown. As she is saying goodbye to her family and friends she feels a sense of betrayal for leaving where she was raised and confusion about her decisions. Once settled into her new job, she finds racial tension and the want for political freedom to be overwhelming. In her book, Shinebourne captures the need for independence and self acceptance within a young woman who is faced with many difficult questions of identity. [9]
Chinese Woman (2004), is another book written by Jan Lowe Shineboure. In this novel, the pain left from the mistreatment of Caribbean cultures and the resentment of political Islam are used to create a captivating story of a young boy named Albert Aziz, a Guyanese Indian Muslim who develops an obsessive love for a girl on his sugar can plantation. Years later, still harvesting feelings of anger towards the way he was treated as a child, he turns to radical Islam for comfort. This novel, portrays a young boy turned man who still has not dealt with his animosity towards others, clashing of cultures, and religion. [10]While shining a light on an often times under-acknowledged perspective of the Caribbean and Muslim history. [11]
The Godmother and Other Stories (2004) is also one of Jane Lowe Shinebourne's more recent novels. It is a collection of stories separated into three parts covering four decades of Guyanese history. The first section captures Guyana during a time of change when they were transforming from a colony to an independent nation. Even after the transition, characters are still faced with social and class discrimination. In the second section, characters have moved to other countries, but still can not escape old identities. However far away the characters are, they still find themselves being influenced by Guyana culture. Although the first two sections are struggles faced by natives of Guyana, section three focuses more on the positive outcomes that can be achieved when culture is embraced instead of neglected. This novel provides an insight to the concepts of time and space, as well as identity.[12]
In addition to being an author, Shinebourne also worked in London as an editor for several journals, as a political and cultural activist and as a college and university lecturer. She now lives in Sussex.
Bibliography
- Timepiece (novel), Peepal Tree Press, 1986.
- The Last English Plantation (novel), Peepal Tree Press, 1988.
- Chinese Women (novel), Peepal Tree Press, 2010.
- The Godmother and Other Stories (stories), Peepal Tree Press, 2004.
References
- ^ Anne-Marie Lee-Loy, "Janice Lowe Shinebourne’s The Godmother and Other Stories (Leeds: Peepal Tree Press, 2004)", Kaieteur News, 16 November 2008.
- ^ Yamamoto, Shin. "Swaying In Time And Space: The Chinese Diaspora In The Caribbean And Its Literary Perspectives." Asian Ethnicity 9.3 (2008): 171-177. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
- ^ http://www.peepaltreepress.com/author_display.asp?au_id=74
- ^ Author information at Peepal Tree Press.
- ^ Paola Marchionni, "Shinebourne, Jan(ice) [Lo]", in Lorna Sage, ed., The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- ^ Goffe, Tao Leigh. "The Emergence of Caribbean Chinese Diasporic Anglophone Literature". small axe. a small axe literary platform. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "Guyana News". Guyana Information. Peepal Tree. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "Jane-Lowe Shinebourne". Guyana Information. Peepal Tree.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ "Timepiece". peepaltrees.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "Chinese Woman". peepaltreepress.com. Peepal Tree Press. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ Sudhakar, Anantha. "Muslim Interrupted". smallaxe.net. small axe platforms. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "The Godmother and Other Stories". peepaltreepress.com. Peepal Tree Press. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- Gleerups “Other Englishes Literature”, Lennart Peterson, 2005
External links
- "Preserving our literary heritage: Janice Lowe Shinebourne An Enabling Literary Culture" (interview), Guyana Chronicle, 6 April 2013; and "Preserving our literary heritage – Janice Lowe Shinebourne – An Enabling Literary Culture (part 2)", Guyana Chronicle, 13 April 2013.
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