The Craft of Commitment: Evelyn O'Callaghan's Scholarly Care for the Caribbean

This introductory essay gives an overview of Evelyn O’Callaghan’s career trajectory and her contributions to the field of Caribbean Literary Studies. It argues that within her published work untold literary histories and disavowed subjects, as well as issues relating to gender and sexuality, have remained a critical priority. It also draws attention to how alongside O’Callaghan’s intellectual labour, which has made a distinctive and hugely significant contribution to West Indian and Caribbean literary criticism, her organizational labour in sustaining local conferences and journals, and her institutional influence as Head and Dean at the University of the West Indies, deserve special recognition in terms of a consistent enactment of scholarly care for the Caribbean.