Sam Selvon: Under the Kiff-Kiff Laughter

This essay offers personal remembrance and reflection on Selvon and his work. It is in the style and mood of reminiscence with a sense of Selvon’s spirit haunting the page. The first five paragraphs function at the level of gossip in the best sense of the word, giving the underside, as it were, of the impulses and circumstances behind the writing. In paragraph number six, Moses Aloetta, Selvon’s narrative alter ego emerges, and the analysis starts. But already, Moses is part of the gossip section, being slapped and chastised for his words. This is not the way a formal essay would normally be formatted. This is a creative-critical essay and its peculiar style cannot be manipulated into the thesis-body-conclusion format.