Ismith Khan
Ismith Khan is a notable writer from Trinidad and Tobago, known for his exploration of cultural alienation and the effects of colonialism through his literary works. Ethnically a Pathan, Khan's writing is deeply influenced by his family's history and experiences, particularly the impact of his grandfather's anti-British sentiments that led to their emigration from India. His novels, including *The Jumbie Bird* and *The Obeah Man*, delve into themes of identity crisis, power dynamics, and the complexities of belonging to multiple cultures. Khan's approach often intertwines personal and political narratives, reflecting on the struggles faced by individuals caught between their ancestral roots and their current society. His background as a journalist has also shaped his deep engagement with Trinbagonian culture, which resonates throughout his work. In addition to his novels, Khan's collection of short stories, *A Day in the Country, and Other Stories*, addresses generational issues and the nuances of alienation. Recognized for his adeptness with dialogue and the vernacular of Trinidad, Khan is celebrated as a significant voice in Caribbean literature.
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Ismith Khan
Writer
- Born: March 16, 1925
- Birthplace: Port of Spain, Trinidad
- Died: April 24, 2002
- Place of death: Brooklyn, New York
Biography
Ismith Khan is a complex writer who hails from a complex cultural background. Born in Trinidad, part of the West Indies dominion of Trinidad and Tobago, he is ethnically a Pathan (a group originally inhabiting India driven out by colonial authorities), and hence, a sort of second generation expatriate. In fact, much of Khan’s writing deals with the examination and consequences of cultural alienation and its accompanying sense of dislocation and ethnic “in-betweenness.” Two of his novels deal directly with not only the tribulations of the outsider but also with the nature of power and the destructive aftereffects of colonialism.
Khan was born to Faiez and Zinab Khan and attended Queen’s Royal College in Port of Spain, Trinidad. His early work as a journalist for the Trinidad Guardian was a prime impetus propelling his creative writing, sparking a deep interest in his cultural community and the island as a whole. Khan received a B.A. in sociology from the New School for Social Research in New York and a M.A. in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University. For most of the years between the mid-1950’s and the 1990’s, Khan lived in the United States, writing, lecturing, and teaching creative writing in either California or New York.
A prime focus of Khan’s writing was fueled by his grandfather’s anti-British attitude that forced his immigration to Trinidad from India and his life’s purpose to keep his descendants connected to their Pathan roots. Khan’s first novel, The Jumbie Bird (1961), is an attempt not only to negotiate the cultural displacement felt by his grandfather, his father, and himself, but also to document that struggle and make peace with it. The novel includes factual information of the British occupation of India interwoven with the family’s emigration. Khan’s next two novels take a more avant-garde approach to the individual’s estrangement from both his new society and originating culture while dealing with the aftermath of postcolonialism. In The Obeah Man (1964), (“obeah” is a West Indian term for folk magic or sorcery), a type of artistic sorcery creates power for the protagonist Zambi. Some may argue that Zambi embodies the essence of the colonizing nations: a belief in authority that has almost a supernatural power over individuals and the perversion of that power in the interest of total hegemony, here seen as Zambi’s sexual domination over his woman, Zolda. Paradoxically, Zambi may also represent the lengths to which the colonized must resort to fight the colonizer. Hence, the political and personal intersect for Khan.
In The Crucifixion, the protagonist and narrator is alienated from himself, questioning the function of his faith and therefore questioning his very being. Thus, in all three novels, characters face identity crises, seeking ways to integrate themselves into, or hold power over, their respective communities. Khan’s short stories, collected in A Day in the Country, and Other Stories (1994), also deal with alienation and generational issues. The themes of Khan’s work center on complex political and personal issues. He is viewed as a talented and brilliant Caribbean writer because of his inspired ear for dialogue and telling depiction of the vernacular speech patterns of the Trinidadian dialect.