Alfred Hubert Mendes (1897–1991) was a member of the influential Beacon group of artists, writers and intellectuals in Trinidad in the 1930s. In common with other Beacon writers, including C.L.R. James and Ralph de Boissière, he set out to create a Trinidad-centred literature, and his extensive output of poetry, short stories, novels and journalism bears witness to his dedication to this goal.
Selected Writings is an anthology of poetry, short fiction and journalism from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s which places Mendes’s literary development in the context of his life. It is accompanied by an introduction, appendices containing early letters to Mendes from C.L.R. James, Claude McKay, and the Canadian writer Hulbert Footner, explanatory notes, and a brief glossary of Trinidadian words and phrase