For The Continuing Presence of the Past: Isaac Julien’s Paradise Omeros and Derek Walcott’s Omeros: Throughout its history, Santa Lucia has been alternately ruled by the French and English. As a result, it is known as the “Helen of the West Indies.” How does this resonate with both Julien’s and Walcott’s works?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Continuing Presence of the Past feature on Isaac Julien’s Paradise Omeros and Derek Walcott’s Omeros provides two examples of the ways that contemporary artists draw inspiration from the Homeric epics. The word Omeros in the title of both of these works is the modern Greek form of the name Homer. Julien’s work provides a visual accompaniment to Walcott’s poem. The works update the Odyssey to reflect the lives of many of the people of St. Lucia, connecting them to Africa and Europe. The hero of these works was born on Santa Lucia, and his ancestors originally made their own odyssey from Africa. They had been exchanged for goods brought from Europe on the first leg of the journey. The hero completes the triangle by immigrating to London and there encountering, in the present day, racial prejudice (and seasonal change) for the first time. Both artists play on Homeric motifs, such as the character of Helen, the famous face that launched a thousand ships. Walcott brings the Odyssey of antiquity to modernity, representing Helen as a beguiling woman on the beach, and inserts a waiter, whose name is Lawrence, alluding to the mythic figure of British culture, Lawrence of Arabia.