Jamaica Kincaid and Annie John: A Childhood Cut Short

by Jennifer Ciotta
I acquired the unique opportunity to study abroad in the West Indies, specifically Barbados, in 1999. Besides bestowing me with the "travel bug" for life, I received a distinctive sort of literary education. For most English majors, as I was, the typical American-university curriculum consists of the usual canon beginning with Beowulf, eventually moving through the Romantic poets, then transferring to African-American slave narratives, and finally ending with more current literature such as Hemingway or Fitzgerald.
During my stay in the Caribbean, I was introduced to another...