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<p>A recurrent theme in Benjamin Zephaniah’s (<i>Windrush Child</i>, Scholastic Children’s Books, London, 2020) is history. Conversations between the protagonist Leonard and his family members acquaint the reader with Jamaican history while setting up a distinction between oral history telling and state-sanctioned (written) histories, such as those taught in school. As Leonard migrates to Britain, the novel reveals many of the hardships first-generation migrants faced and tackles socio-political issues facing people of Caribbean heritage in Britain today. This is made explicit by the novel’s engagement with the Windrush Scandal. Apart from offering counter histories and histories from below, <i>Windrush Child</i> draws attention to the processes of the creation and curation of historical knowledge. Through an analysis of not only the histories that are told, but also how they are told, in what language and by whom, this article argues that <i>Windrush Child</i> moves beyond simply offering counter histories by highlighting oral history telling as a powerful mode of communicating the past. Moreover, history is made relevant to today and each reader is positioned as active in the generative process of history creation.</p>

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Telling History in Benjamin Zephaniah’s Windrush Child

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月22日

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  • Russell Palmer

摘要

A recurrent theme in Benjamin Zephaniah’s (Windrush Child, Scholastic Children’s Books, London, 2020) is history. Conversations between the protagonist Leonard and his family members acquaint the reader with Jamaican history while setting up a distinction between oral history telling and state-sanctioned (written) histories, such as those taught in school. As Leonard migrates to Britain, the novel reveals many of the hardships first-generation migrants faced and tackles socio-political issues facing people of Caribbean heritage in Britain today. This is made explicit by the novel’s engagement with the Windrush Scandal. Apart from offering counter histories and histories from below, Windrush Child draws attention to the processes of the creation and curation of historical knowledge. Through an analysis of not only the histories that are told, but also how they are told, in what language and by whom, this article argues that Windrush Child moves beyond simply offering counter histories by highlighting oral history telling as a powerful mode of communicating the past. Moreover, history is made relevant to today and each reader is positioned as active in the generative process of history creation.