Trinidadian author Ismith Khan (1925-2002) is celebrated in this new critical study, which sheds invaluable and entertaining light on his life, his short stories and his three novels: the semi-autobiographical The Jumbie Bird (1961), The Obeah Man (1964), which was adapted as a play for the BBC, and The Crucifixion, published by Peepal Tree Press in 1987.

Khan's literary accomplishments are given in-depth treatment, particularly his skill in representing the diversity of Trinidadian culture across language, generation, ethnicity and class. Clear and well-documented, the survey gives a persuasive case for the re-evaluation of this great writer's work.

"Khan's ear for dialect and his ability to render it in print made his novels lasting successes." – The New York Times

Roydon Salick is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Liberal Arts at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad. He is the author of The Novels of Samuel Selvon: A Critical Study (2001).