Hanif Kureishi and the Context of Black British Literature Study Notes

Introduction to the Second Half of the Semester

• The course curriculum for the second half of the semester revolves around two major novels before the final wrap-up:     - The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi.     - On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
• Both works are categorized as masterpieces of Black British literature.
• Structurally, both novels are comedies that incorporate significant social commentary.
• The current focus is providing background on Hanif Kureishi and the general context of the term “Black British literature."

Defining and Debating "Black British" Literature

• The term "Black British" has been a subject of scholarly and literary debate since its emergence.
• Salman Rushdie's 1983 Critique:     - Rushdie famously proclaimed in an essay that Black British literature does not exist.     - He argued the category comprises "different traditions united only by their proponents' pigmentation alongside their British citizenship or residence."
• Problematic Nature of the Label:     - Many writers object to the phrasing because they believe it suggests marginalization.     - It is often viewed as an "appendage" to mainstream British literature (a mainstream often referred to implicitly as "white British literature," though that specific phrase is rarely used).     - Some authors find the title limiting and exclusionary.

Evolution of the Term "Black British"

• 1970s Roots:     - Originally emerged as a political designation rather than a racial label.     - Designed to describe writing by authors living in Britain with origins in former colonies (Asia, Africa, or the Caribbean).     - Focused on shared experiences of post-colonial migration, feelings of alienation, systemic discrimination, and a simultaneous attachment to Britain.
• 1980s and 1990s Scope:     - The term unproblematically included writers of South Asian or even East Asian descent.     - Key figures included:         - Salman Rushdie (South Asian roots).         - Kazuo Ishiguro (roots in Japan).         - Ben Okri (born in Nigeria).         - Linton Kwesi Johnson (born in Jamaica).
• Modern Contraction:     - Today, the term is more conventionally used for authors of African and Caribbean descent.     - Writers with Asian roots are now typically categorized as "British-Asian" or "Asian-British."     - Example: Monica Ali, whose $2003$ debut novel Brick Lane focuses on London's Bangladeshi community.
• Ongoing Ethnic Complexity:     - Delineations remain messy. For example:         - Pauline Melville: Born in Guyana, Caribbean heritage, but ethnically white.         - David Dabydeen: Born in Guyana, but of East Indian descent.     - The shift in terminology suggests a growing gap between communities once unified by their status as cultural "outsiders."

The Elusiveness of "Britishness" and National Identity

• Even the term "British" is elusive, as residence and citizenship are complicated by plural senses of belonging.
• Chris Abani:     - Born in Nigeria, lived in Britain for several years, eventually moved to the United States.
• Caryl Phillips:     - Born in St. Kitts, raised and educated in Britain, and eventually moved to the United States.     - Describes his identity as "Atlantic" in his book A New World Order.     - This identity encompasses:         - The Africa of his ancestors.         - The Caribbean of his birth.         - The Britain of his upbringing and worldview.
• These cases highlight the difficulty of using national labels to capture literary identity in a globalized era.

Historical Depth of Black British Literature

• While often associated with the post-World War II period (post-$1948$), the tradition predates the Windrush generation.
• The Empire Windrush ($1948$):     - Approximately $500$ people, primarily men from the British West Indies, arrived at Tilbury, England.     - This is often cited as the starting point of modern Black British culture, but focusing exclusively on it ignores earlier contributions.
• Significant Pre-Windrush Figures:     - Olaudah Equiano: Published Interesting Narrative in $1789$.     - Mary Seacole: Published Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands in $1857$.     - $1930s$ Intellectuals: Figures like CLR James (Trinidad) and Una Marson (Jamaica) participated in English radical circles and intellectual debates.
• The Younger Generation:     - Writers like Hanif Kureishi and Zadie Smith, born in England, often feel more allegiance to Britain than to their ancestral lands.     - Their work is less marked by displacement/migration and more by being "born and bred" in Britain.

Hanif Kureishi: Biography and Early Life

• Ancestry and Birth:     - Born in $1954$ in Bromley, South London.     - Father: Rafiushan Kureishi, a Pakistani man who moved to England in $1947$ during the partition of India.     - Mother: Audrey Buss, an English woman.     - Parents met while his father worked at the Pakistani embassy after failing to graduate with a law degree.
• Familial Background:     - Kureishi’s father came from a privileged, liberal, upper-middle-class family where Western culture was cherished.     - His father was Muslim by birth but not by inclination, educated at Catholic schools, and interested in Eastern mysticism (paralleling the character Haroon in The Buddha of Suburbia).
• Experiences of Racism:     - Kureishi's father wanted to be English and disliked "in-between stuff," yet he was frequently subjected to the slur "Paki" and viewed as inferior by his neighbors.     - Growing up in the early $1960s$, Kureishi found the atmosphere oppressive: "It's an effing nightmare and hard work, and you never forget it."     - At school, he was the only non-white student and was bullied; one teacher even called him "Pakistani Pete."

Cultural Influences: David Bowie and Identity

• Kureishi found consolation in literature and rock music.
• David Bowie:     - A hero of "mythic proportions" who also grew up in Bromley and escaped the suburbs.     - Kureishi was inspired by Bowie's ability to "make yourself up" and the idea that identities weren't fixed.     - Bowie’s style (dressing like a woman) suggested that identity was a "masquerade" rather than something innate like being a "white working-class boy" or a "Paki."     - Kureishi famously stated: "Liking Bowie was like being a Muslim in that you have a new identity, a new identification… it liberated me from the condition I was in."

Kureishi’s Literary Career and Major Works

• Early Writing:     - Wrote his first novel, Run Hard, Black Man, at age $14$.     - Though his first three teenage novels were rejected by publisher Anthony Blond, editor Jeremy Trafford provided crucial encouragement.     - First published works were for pornographic magazines while a student at King's College (University of London), under pseudonyms like "Antonia French" and "Karim."
• Theatrical Success:     - At age $26$ ($1980$), he had two plays accepted for the stage: The King and Me and The Mother Country.     - Won an award in $1981$ and became a writer-in-residence at the Royal Court Theatre.
• Screenwriting and Fame:     - My Beautiful Laundrette ($1985$): A low-budget film that earned him an Academy Award nomination.     - Sammy and Rosie Get Laid: His second major screenplay.     - The income from these films funded the writing of his first novel.
• The Buddha of Suburbia ($1990$):     - Cemented his reputation and won the Whitbread Prize.     - Highly autobiographical, featuring the guru-like father Haroon and the son Karim exploring "sex, drugs, and rock and roll."     - Reflected the tension with his own father, a "frustrated writer" who considered Hanif’s work "rubbish."

Psychoanalysis and the "Post-Ethnic"

• Kureishi has had a lifelong interest in psychoanalysis (Freud, Jung, Winnicott).
• Once used his philosophy studies to address "the big questions in life": sexuality, death, marriage, and authority.
• Mark Stein’s "Post-Ethnic" Theory:     - Stein argues Kureishi’s work is "post-ethnic" because it is aware of the expectations placed on ethnic writers and goes beyond them.     - It disputes the confinements of the category.     - Stein describes The Buddha of Suburbia as having a "posed-ethnic" perspective—using ethnic markers (food, religion, clothing) while simultaneously ridiculing the very notion of "ethnic writing."

Recent Tragedy: The $2022$ Accident and Interview

• In December $2022$ (Boxing Day), Kureishi suffered a catastrophic health event in Rome at the Villa Borghese.
• The Accident:     - Ill with diverticulitis, he fainted, fell, and broke his neck.     - He experienced a "disconnection" between his brain and body; he saw his arms on the floor and didn't recognize them as his own.
• Current Condition:     - He remains paralyzed; he can move his arms slightly and has feeling, but lacks motor control (e.g., cannot move his thumbs).     - Living in a hospital (initially a dementia ward), which he describes as "absolute hell" and "like sleeping in a shopping center."
• Work and Resilience:     - He documents his experience in a blog titled Shattered on Substack/Twitter, which he dictates to his partner, Isabella.     - The blog is characterized by "dark humor," desolation, and pain.     - He is supported by a "reservoir of love," including daily letters from his friend Salman Rushdie.
• Views on the NHS:     - Describes the NHS as a wonderful, multicultural resource staffed by kind people, but notes it is a slow bureaucracy with overstressed and insufficient staff.
• Personal Reflection:     - Admits to deep depression and loss of interest in the world (loss of appetite, inability to read/watch movies).     - Finds meaning in the love of his family and the realization of human kindness: "I often wonder whether I should have done more of that myself."

Questions & Discussion

• Interviewer Question: "Why was it important for you to write this down?"     - Kureishi’s Response: He felt the need to stay connected to his inner being. It was proof to himself and the world that his brain was still working and he was still a person with ideas and family.
• Interviewer Question: "What does it do to you when you think about that, that you might not pick up a pen again?"     - Kureishi’s Response: It is a significant loss, representing things he will never do again, yet he emphasizes the fact that he did not die.
• Interviewer Question: "When do you realistically think you will get home… and start to write again?"     - Kureishi’s Response: If it happens, it will be in a year, provided he can get through the currently painful and depressing phase of rehabilitation.