How To Say Babylon
Jamaica

How To Say Babylon

by Safiya Sinclair

Identity & Belonging Non-Fiction Memoir 2023

Summary

How to Say Babylon is a memoir by Jamaican poet Safiya Sinclair about growing up in a strict Rastafari household, where religious beliefs shaped nearly every aspect of family life. Her father, a devoted Rastafari, raises his children according to rigid interpretations of the faith, imposing strict rules on their behaviour, education, appearance, and relationships with the outside world. For Sinclair, these restrictions become particularly difficult as she grows older and begins to question the expectations placed on women.

Books and poetry gradually offer her a way to explore ideas beyond the boundaries of her upbringing. Through education and writing, she discovers the language to challenge the beliefs that have defined her childhood and to develop an independent sense of self. Yet her journey toward freedom is complicated by love for her family and the cultural traditions she does not wish simply to reject.

Written in lyrical prose, the memoir explores religion, patriarchy, colonial history, and the transformative power of literature. It is a deeply personal account of finding one’s voice while negotiating the complex relationship between family, cultural inheritance, and individual freedom.

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Country
Jamaica
North America
About the author
Safiya Sinclair
Safiya Sinclair

Safiya Sinclair is a Jamaican poet and memoirist whose writing explores identity, history, race, gender, and the legacies of colonialism. Born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica, she grew up in a strict Rastafari household, an experience that profoundly influenced her literary work. Sinclair earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of the West Indies and later completed an MFA at the University of Virginia. Her debut poetry collection, Cannibal (2016), received several awards, including the 2016 Whiting Award and the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. Her poems have appeared in publications such as Poetry, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books. Her acclaimed memoir, How to Say Babylon (2023), recounts her upbringing within a restrictive religious environment and her journey toward intellectual and personal independence. The book received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction in 2024. Through poetry and memoir, Sinclair examines how language and literature can help people confront inherited beliefs and reclaim their own stories.

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Details
Published
2023
Author
Safiya Sinclair