Isaiah james boodhoo biography template

Trinidadian Painter, Writer and ‘Poet of the Plains’

Born in the eastern region of Upper Guaico near the town of Sangre Grande in in colonial Trinidad, Boodhoo was the son of an estate labourer.

Though of East Indian descent, the product of indentureship from South and East Asia to the colony after the abolition of slavery, he noted his name said something about ‘the whole history of colonialism. You have a Judaeo-Christian first name onto a British middle name, with a Hindu surname.’  But the cosmopolitan diversity was stimulating.

As he remembered, ‘most of the children in the Roman Catholic school and in my village were of African origin.

Isaiah james boodhoo biography template pdf

My best friends were of African origin, so going to fete and carnival and playing steelband was part of my growing up. The Hindu element was also very strong, as well as the Presbyterian, because I went to church every Sunday. That kind of mixture has enriched my life.’

At Naparima Training College in the s, he was taught by the Trinidadi