Fiction. Afro-Caribbean Studies. "Pollard's brilliant language, her moving evocation of Jamaican places, events, and lives, [ drives] her account of the quest of the archetypal bright Jamaican male for identity and manhood"--Daryl Cumber Dance. Karl is intelligent and reaps the rewards of his determined hard work through success. Yet, his social climbing leads to a place of rootlessnes and mental Ochaos' as Pollard's use of language flashes musically and incisively in turn tracing Karl's quest for identity and manhood in Jamaican society that is riddled with social issues. Karl's reprieve is poignantly narrated. Velma Pollard is a retired Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Pollard is a widely published author, essayist and poet. Her poetry collections include The Best Philosophers I Know Can't Read and Write (2001). Karl won the prestigious Casa de las Americas Award, 1992; this is a republication of that work.
