Anthony Kellman (born April 24, 1955) is a poet, novelist, and musician from Barbados.
In 1990, the British publisher Peepal Tree Press released his first complete book of poetry, Watercourse. This book was supported by the late Martiniquan poet Edouard Glissant and helped start Kellman's career as an international writer. Since 1990, he has written three novels, four CDs of original songs, and four more books of poetry. One of these books, Limestone: An Epic Poem of Barbados, is the first published epic poem from Barbados. It describes more than four hundred years of Barbadian history.
In 1992, Kellman edited the first full-length collection of English-language Caribbean poetry in the United States, titled Crossing Water. In 1993, he was awarded a Poetry Fellowship by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.
Kellman created a unique type of poetry called Tuk Verse. This form is based on the musical rhythms and melodies found in traditional Barbadian folk music.
Early life
Kellman was born in Whitehall, Saint Michael, Barbados, and attended Combermere Secondary School. When he was eighteen years old, he moved to England, where he worked as a musician, playing pop and West Indian folk music at pubs and folk clubs. He also joined the London literary scene, especially through the Poetry Society and Peter Forbes, who was the former editor of London's Poetry Review. Members of the group met in the London area of Earl's Court to share and discuss their writing.
Career
When Kellman returned to Barbados, he earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of the West Indies. He published two small poetry books, In Depths of Burning Light (1982) and The Broken Sun (1984), which received praise from Kamau Brathwaite and others. He worked as a newspaper reporter, a columnist for arts and literature, and in public relations at the Central Bank of Barbados and later at the National Cultural Foundation. In 1987, he moved to the United States. His work at the Central Bank inspired his first novel, The Coral Rooms (1994).
In 1987, he studied for a Master's degree in Fine Arts with a focus on Creative Writing at Louisiana State University. After finishing in 1989, he joined the English Department at Augusta University, where he is now a professor emeritus. He led the university's Sandhills Writers Conference & Series from 1989 to 2015, a time when many famous writers, such as Ray Bradbury and Derek Walcott, participated. He also started and managed the Summerville Reading Series (1989–1994) and A Winter Gathering of Writers (1990–2010).
In 1992, he edited the first full collection of English-language Caribbean poetry in the United States, Crossing Water. In 1993, he received a U.S. National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship. In 2011, he won Barbados' Prime Minister's Award for his poetry collection South Eastern Stages, which included his unique Tuk Verse style and was published in 2012.
Kellman's creative and critical writing has appeared in anthologies and magazines in the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States, England, Wales, Canada, and India. In 1998, his first essay about Tuk Verse was published in the London magazine Wasafiri.
He sees many similarities between the Caribbean and the Southern United States, which appear in his poetry. His work often includes images of blue jays, dogwoods, and wisteria alongside angel fish, sugarcane, and coral reefs. His writing focuses on landscapes as living things that shape people's lives and as symbols for inner thoughts. The limestone caves of Barbados have been a major source of inspiration for him. His style uses vivid images and blends elements from Barbadian English, standard English, personal experiences, and historical themes.
Kellman continues to write and perform folk songs in the world music and singer-songwriter styles. His four albums are Wings of a Stranger (2000), Limestone (2005) (both related to poetry books with the same names), Bloodmates (2010), and Come Again: The Best of Anthony Kellman (2011).