Reflecting on his youth and schooling in Trinidad, CLR James was positive about his education and did not scorn the contributions of classical and Western culture to world civilization. ‘I denounce European colonialism’, wrote CLR James but ‘I, a man of the Caribbean, have found that it is in the study of Western literature, Western philosophy and Western history that I have found out the things that I have found out, even about the underdeveloped countries’. In this extraordinary launch debate on CLR James and the canon, in the Oval’s historic pavilion, a panel of luminaries provide us with fascinating insights on what we can learn from one of the great figures of the 20th Century. For those who know little of CLR James, this is a great place to start too.
