Kitch A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon

Combining factual biography with the imaginative structure of the novel, Anthony Joseph gets to the heart of the man behind the music and the myth, to present a holistic portrait of the calypso icon Lord Kitchener. Born into colonial Trinidad in 1922 as Aldwyn Roberts, ‘Kitch’ emerged in the 1950s, at the forefront of multicultural Britain, acting as an intermediary between the growing Caribbean community, the islands they had left behind, and the often hostile conditions of life in post-war Britain. In the process, Kitch single-handedly popularized the calypso in Britain. Joseph spoke to Lord Kitchener just once, in 1984, when he found the calypso icon standing alone in Queen’s Park Savannah. It was a pivotal meeting in which the great calypsonian outlined his musical vision, an event which forms a moving epilogue to Kitch, Joseph’s unique biography of the Grandmaster.

Anthony Joseph lectures in creative writing at Birkbeck College. He is the author of four poetry collections.