News Americas, New York, NY, 15 November 2024: Caribbean immigrant author and lecturer Elizabeth Nunez, whose works masterfully explored themes of family, the lingering effects of colonialism and the immigrant experience, has died. According to the New York Times, she passed away at her home in Brooklyn. She was 80 years old. Her son, Jason Harrell, told the Times that the cause was complications from a stroke.
Dr. Nunez was praised for her ability to weave the complexities of identity, belonging, and history into her novels, often with sharp commentary on American academia and the New York publishing world.
A life rooted in stories and scholarship
Born on February 18, 1944, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Nunez grew up in a prominent family of Portuguese and African descent. Raised under the British colonial education system, she developed an early love of literature, devouring the works of English authors such as Enid Blyton and Jane Austen. This literary upbringing shaped her identity, even as she struggled to move beyond the Eurocentric narratives of her childhood.
Her first novel, When rocks jump (1986), marked the beginning of her literary journey. Originally planning to write for a modern academic in America, she became immersed in the historical and cultural tensions of her Trinidadian heritage.
Exploring identity and belonging
The novels of Dr. Nunez often reflected on her personal journey as a Trinidadian floating life in the United States. Beyond the silence of oblivion (1998) reflected her experience as a young student attending a small Catholic college in Wisconsin, where she confronted her ignorance of Caribbean history and the harsh truths of colonialism.
IN Grace (2003), she portrayed the challenges of a Caribbean-born professor in Brooklyn, reflecting on her career at Medgar Evers College, where she encountered tensions with black American colleagues.
Appreciated by its critics Prospero’s daughter (2006) reimagined Shakespeare’s The storm in a Trinidadian setting, tackling themes of xenophobia, power and culture clash.
Academic and literary contributions
Dr. Nunez earned his Ph.D. in literature from New York University and held leadership roles at Medgar Evers College, including chair of the English department and professor. She later joined Hunter College as a distinguished professor of English, retiring earlier this year.
A tireless advocate for black literature, she co-founded the National Black Writers’ Conference, chairing it for more than a decade.
Despite her deep connection with the Caribbean, Dr. Nunez resisted being labeled a “Caribbean writer”, emphasizing her wider literary contribution. “I don’t mind being classified as a Caribbean writer,” she said Miami Herald in 2006, “while it is a subcategory in fiction”.
Legacy
Nunez has written 11 novels, including Now Lila knows (2022). her memories, Not for daily use (2014), offered a poignant look at her upbringing and the complicated relationships within her family.
She is survived by her son, Jason Harrell; 10 siblings; and two nieces.
Nunez leaves behind a literary legacy that transcends boundaries, championing stories that resonate with the complexities of identity, history, and the human spirit.
