SOURCE: Rohlehr, Gordon, and E. A. Markham. “Rohlehr on Brathwaite.” In Hinterland: Caribbean Poetry from the West Indies & Britain, edited by E. A. Markham, pp. 109-16. Newcastle on Tyne, UK: Bloodaxe Books, 1995.

In the following interview, Rohlehr, an authority on Brathwaite's poetry, expresses admiration for Brathwaite's growth as an artist and reflects on the critical reaction to Brathwaite's work, especially among Caribbean writers.

There are a number of possible ways I might have gone about it. I could have selected a number of concerns in the Trilogy [The Arrivants], for example, spoken about imagery. I felt that as a first exploratory work on the Trilogy. I should retrace in my criticism the journey which the [The Arrivants.] was about. The Trilogy is about a journey, or several journeys, which are all tributaries of a single journey. And it's interesting when you take that line, how many things come...