Harold Sonny Ladoo (4 February 1945 – 17 August 1973)[1] was a Caribbean novelist, who was the author of two books documenting the struggles of living in poverty in the Hindu communities of Trinidad and Tobago. He moved to Canada in 1968 and was mysteriously murdered while on a visit to Trinidad in 1973.[2]
Ladoo was born and grew up in an environment much like the world of his novels. He was born in Trinidad into extreme poverty and immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and son in 1968 to study English at the University of Toronto.
It was during this time that he wrote his first and most notable novel, No Pain Like This Body, published in 1972. Described by David Chariandy and "an unusually strong first novel",[3] it is the vivid story of a young boy growing up in a small Caribbean rice-growing community. The book focuses on the day-to-day struggles of a single family through illness, storm, and violence during the August rainy season. The writing is raw and often naïve yet manages to create a visceral experience.
His second book, Yesterdays (posthumously published, 1974),[1] was a much more upbeat book about a young man attempting to launch a Hindu Mission to Canada.
Ladoo's third book was intended to be the last part of a trilogy; however, in 1973, while on a visit home to his Calcutta Settlement, he was mysteriously killed and his body was found on the side of a road in Trinidad.
Michael Bucknor and Conrad James described Ladoo's work as being, along with the works of Andrew Salkey, "especially useful" for tracking developments in Caribbean social attitudes towards masculinity and issues of male sexuality during the mid- to late-20th century, a domain which has been neglected by Western scholars until recently.[4] An essay on Indo-Caribbean authors contrasted Ladoo's work with that of Sasenarine Persaud, neither of whom ever had direct experiences with India; Persaud integrated spiritual and aesthetic elements of Indian high culture into his writing, while Ladoo's writing of his colonial environment featured "naturalistic detail, black humour, and the grotesque".[5] Scholar Victor Ramraj described Ladoo as being unique from fellow Indo-Caribbean writers Neil Bissoondath, Rabindranath Maharaj, Ismith Khan, V. S. Naipaul, and Samuel Selvon: Ladoo's use of Creole dialect is a departure from older Caribbean fiction. Naipaul, Jean Rhys, George Lamming, Derek Walcott and others, used the polished language of the coloniser and showed in doing so that they were equal to the British writers who made a name for themselves. Ladoo, on the other hand, shows his confidence by selecting Creole, as if to say, "this is the dialect of the common man, why should I try to gentrify it?" In doing so, he achieves an authenticity that is furthered by the immersion of his characters in the kind of vocabulary and sentence structure that the poverty-stricken people would use. In addition, his use of onomatopoeia heightens the effect of the sounds of movement in people and nature, and increases the animism that makes the characters even more authentic. Indigenous people all over the world have believed in the almost god-like power of nature. Ladoo amplifies this distinctive belief in the intentionality given to thunder or lightning or reptiles.
To come to Sonny Ladoo from Persaud and his fellow Indo-Trinidadian novelists... is to be made aware quickly of how distinct he is from these writers – that he is unique in his depiction of a specific rural pocket of Trinidad's East Indian population in the early part of the twentieth century... Ladoo constructs a harsh, natural, and human environment of wrenching poverty, peopled by individuals given to violent and abusive domestic and communal relationships. They are perhaps the most appallingly brutal, vulgar, and obscene characters in all of West Indian literature.[6]
The University of Toronto Mississauga campus (formerly Erindale College) offers to students The Harold Sonny Ladoo Book Prize for Creative Writing every year.[7]
References
^ abColeman, Daniel, "Ladoo, Harold Sonny", in William H. New (ed.), Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada, University of Toronto Press, 2002, p. 601.
^Dennis Lee, "The Death of Harold Ladoo", boundary 2, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn 1976; Duke University Press), pp. 213–228.
^Chariandy, David, "The Life of Harold Sonny Ladoo" (review) 12 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 8 December 2011. Originally in Canadian Literature #188 (Spring 2006), pp. 140–141.
^Bucknor, Michael; James, Conrad (1 December 2014). ""Cock Mouth Kill Cock": Language, Power and Sexual Intimacy in Constructions of Caribbean Masculinities". Caribbean Quarterly. 60 (4): 1–7. doi:10.1080/00086495.2014.11672532. S2CID 141794759.
^Bucknor, Michael; Conrad, James (1 December 2015). Vernacular Worlds, Cosmopolitan Imagination. Leiden: Brill. pp. 174–175.
^"English Awards", Department of English & Drama, University of Toronto Mississauga.
Further reading
Dennis Lee, On the Death of Harold Ladoo, San Francisco: Kanchenjunga Press, 1976.
Clement H. Wyke, "Harold Ladoo's Alternate Worlds: Canada and Carib Island", Canadian Literature 95 (Winter 1982), pp. 39–49.
Margaret Paul Joseph, Caliban in Exile: The Outsider in Caribbean Fiction. Greenwood Press, 1992.
August 20, 2023
harold, sonny, ladoo, february, 1945, august, 1973, caribbean, novelist, author, books, documenting, struggles, living, poverty, hindu, communities, trinidad, tobago, moved, canada, 1968, mysteriously, murdered, while, visit, trinidad, 1973, born4, february, 1. Harold Sonny Ladoo 4 February 1945 17 August 1973 1 was a Caribbean novelist who was the author of two books documenting the struggles of living in poverty in the Hindu communities of Trinidad and Tobago He moved to Canada in 1968 and was mysteriously murdered while on a visit to Trinidad in 1973 2 Harold Sonny LadooBorn4 February 1945Trinidad and TobagoDied17 August 1973 1973 08 17 aged 28 Trinidad and TobagoEducationUniversity of TorontoOccupationNovelistNotable workNo Pain Like This Body 1972 Contents 1 Biography 2 Bibliography 3 Legacy 4 References 5 Further readingBiography EditLadoo was born and grew up in an environment much like the world of his novels He was born in Trinidad into extreme poverty and immigrated to Toronto Ontario Canada with his wife and son in 1968 to study English at the University of Toronto It was during this time that he wrote his first and most notable novel No Pain Like This Body published in 1972 Described by David Chariandy and an unusually strong first novel 3 it is the vivid story of a young boy growing up in a small Caribbean rice growing community The book focuses on the day to day struggles of a single family through illness storm and violence during the August rainy season The writing is raw and often naive yet manages to create a visceral experience His second book Yesterdays posthumously published 1974 1 was a much more upbeat book about a young man attempting to launch a Hindu Mission to Canada Ladoo s third book was intended to be the last part of a trilogy however in 1973 while on a visit home to his Calcutta Settlement he was mysteriously killed and his body was found on the side of a road in Trinidad Bibliography EditNo Pain Like This Body 1972 House of Anansi 2013 Yesterdays posthumously published 1974 Legacy EditMichael Bucknor and Conrad James described Ladoo s work as being along with the works of Andrew Salkey especially useful for tracking developments in Caribbean social attitudes towards masculinity and issues of male sexuality during the mid to late 20th century a domain which has been neglected by Western scholars until recently 4 An essay on Indo Caribbean authors contrasted Ladoo s work with that of Sasenarine Persaud neither of whom ever had direct experiences with India Persaud integrated spiritual and aesthetic elements of Indian high culture into his writing while Ladoo s writing of his colonial environment featured naturalistic detail black humour and the grotesque 5 Scholar Victor Ramraj described Ladoo as being unique from fellow Indo Caribbean writers Neil Bissoondath Rabindranath Maharaj Ismith Khan V S Naipaul and Samuel Selvon Ladoo s use of Creole dialect is a departure from older Caribbean fiction Naipaul Jean Rhys George Lamming Derek Walcott and others used the polished language of the coloniser and showed in doing so that they were equal to the British writers who made a name for themselves Ladoo on the other hand shows his confidence by selecting Creole as if to say this is the dialect of the common man why should I try to gentrify it In doing so he achieves an authenticity that is furthered by the immersion of his characters in the kind of vocabulary and sentence structure that the poverty stricken people would use In addition his use of onomatopoeia heightens the effect of the sounds of movement in people and nature and increases the animism that makes the characters even more authentic Indigenous people all over the world have believed in the almost god like power of nature Ladoo amplifies this distinctive belief in the intentionality given to thunder or lightning or reptiles To come to Sonny Ladoo from Persaud and his fellow Indo Trinidadian novelists is to be made aware quickly of how distinct he is from these writers that he is unique in his depiction of a specific rural pocket of Trinidad s East Indian population in the early part of the twentieth century Ladoo constructs a harsh natural and human environment of wrenching poverty peopled by individuals given to violent and abusive domestic and communal relationships They are perhaps the most appallingly brutal vulgar and obscene characters in all of West Indian literature 6 The University of Toronto Mississauga campus formerly Erindale College offers to students The Harold Sonny Ladoo Book Prize for Creative Writing every year 7 References Edit a b Coleman Daniel Ladoo Harold Sonny in William H New ed Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada University of Toronto Press 2002 p 601 Dennis Lee The Death of Harold Ladoo boundary 2 Vol 5 No 1 Autumn 1976 Duke University Press pp 213 228 Chariandy David The Life of Harold Sonny Ladoo review Archived 12 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine canlit ca Canadian Literature 8 December 2011 Originally in Canadian Literature 188 Spring 2006 pp 140 141 Bucknor Michael James Conrad 1 December 2014 Cock Mouth Kill Cock Language Power and Sexual Intimacy in Constructions of Caribbean Masculinities Caribbean Quarterly 60 4 1 7 doi 10 1080 00086495 2014 11672532 S2CID 141794759 Stephanides Stephanos Karayanni Stavros 2015 Vernacular Worlds Cosmopolitan Imagination Leiden BRILL p xxvi Bucknor Michael Conrad James 1 December 2015 Vernacular Worlds Cosmopolitan Imagination Leiden Brill pp 174 175 English Awards Department of English amp Drama University of Toronto Mississauga Further reading EditDennis Lee On the Death of Harold Ladoo San Francisco Kanchenjunga Press 1976 Clement H Wyke Harold Ladoo s Alternate Worlds Canada and Carib Island Canadian Literature 95 Winter 1982 pp 39 49 Margaret Paul Joseph Caliban in Exile The Outsider in Caribbean Fiction Greenwood Press 1992 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harold Sonny Ladoo amp oldid 1144452923, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
