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Jolien Harmsen is a Dutch resident of St Lucia. First published in Dutch in the Netherlands as "Rum, Roti, Onrecht", Macmillan has just published the author's translation of her book into English under the Macmillan Caribbean label. The story is told by Claire, a 30-ish Australian freelance journalist, who lives in LaPointe Sable a village by the sea, well away from Belmont, the capital of St Cecilia. Michael and Hazel Cunningham aren't the most welcome of visitors to the island, Michael is an alcoholic, and when she's well liquored up, Hazel says she wants to shoot a "nigger" even as she invites handsome water-taxi driver "Smiley" Riley Jackson aboard their yacht "Footloose" for a bit of the other while her husband is asleep. "Smiley" disappears, is found with half his face chewed off by fish - and a bullet in his chest. There's little doubt, in most locals' minds (including Claire) that Hazel did it, but the weapon can't be found, the Cunninghams claim their gun was stolen in the neighbouring island of St Pierre. The Cunninghams are arrested, the US press (thanks to Claire) get hold of the story and descend on St Cecilia, write sensational articles full with half-truths on corruption and drug smuggling and portraying the Cunninghams as benefactors and victims of racism. And there's the sensational trial ... It's best to leave the rest to readers - especially West Indians overseas who'll find this book full of all things, good and bad, they remember of home: of maxi-taxis, the ups and downs of life on a small island, some French patois (for St Lucians), echoes of Carnival (but not much about pan), politics, the police. Which is all well and good and a welcome dose of nostalgia for the homesick, but too often the author gets carried away in long descriptions of life in St Cecilia - at one point she interrupts the action to devote almost a whole chapter to the frustrations of shopping.
The Professor Emeritus sees the modern Trinidad Carnival as a sham, and so "Under the Mas" is his bold attempt to reclaim that authenticity. "Originally structured and developed during the years of enslavement and immediately thereafter, to deal with the social, political and economic circumstances of daily life, the dominant modern version now follows an European model, has no root in indigenous forms and has lost its authenticity." Henry, who grew up on Duncan Street, Port-of-Spain, migrated to London about 40 years ago, and has lived in New York, Montreal and Toronto. "I am not a writer, everything I have done is through performance, but it was necessary to write this book because nobody was doing it," he said, adding that "everything has been done through my ability as a creative artist. "These positions were offered in the various conservatories and universities. I did my scholarship privately, set up my programmes, and attended lectures by visiting professors paralleling my own interests." Henry played 'mas from the age of five, and was active from his youth as a dancer with the Little Carib and as an actor with Errol Hill, as well as in the Canadian theatre, as actor, dancer, director, choreographer, teacher and producer. He has researched, written extensively and given lecture-demonstrations on the history, dance, movement chants and theatrical forms of the traditional masquerade characters of Trinidad. In Under the Mas he has woven an intriguing tapestry that re-emphasizes the roots of the Trinidad masquerade in protest. The book, explains the author, "is about rebellion, resistance and protest in the masquerade and I believe the traditional characters, Pay-Wo, (Pierrot Grenade), Baby Doll, Midnight Robbers, Jab Jabs, are historical and political markers of the Trinidad society, because the history that we read in school about ourselves is what other people write about us". It is by listening carefully to what these traditional characters said and did, and by decoding their costume designs that we learn the story of the enslaved Africans who are our ancestors, and by so doing we are able to define ourselves. "We are referred to as an oral society who never wrote the language down on paper, but through storytelling by the elders and the griots, and with performances portrayed through song, dance, parody, mime and dramatic interpretations, we gain some insight into the conditions and situations of the period. "If we listen carefully to the speeches, one can decode elements of the struggle, life and conditions under which they existed. It is common knowledge that the drums were banned because it was suspected that coded messages were being used to subvert the system but there were many other means of communications that were used, such as, the tambu bambu, which was adapted to replicate the same rhythmic structure of the skin drums. "The Dame Lorraine was parody in a broad sense and the Baby Doll was a cry from the women of the period who were disadvantaged by the powerful master/servant construct. "Many were saying that the traditional characters were dying slowly and because of my background in dance and theatre I wanted to make an attempt to save the movements and the theatrical flair that they used to portray and communicate their message, through Under the Mas. What is most unique about the mix of enslaved Africans in the Trinidad resistance, was the creative method of presentation and performance used to subvert the system. Unlike North America and the other islands in the Caribbean there was no insurrection, bloodshed and murder." Professor Henry lives in Trinidad and Toronto with his wife, Dr Frances Henry, an anthropologist, whose book Pa Nezer - He has got the Power was also recently launched at NALIS.
Fifteen short stories and 214 pages all about women may seem like a lot to get through, but Leach's writing is uniquely lush. She has a gift for painting vividly the emotional and relational landscape without wasting time on the unnecessary. Her stories keep baiting you with compelling and disturbing characters, made more compelling and disturbing because they're female. Layered, complex, duplicitous at times, not one of these stories is simplistic. And somehow, based on their intimate relationships, or simply cultural comparisons to men based on traditional roles, the women come out holding the wrong end of the stick. At face value, What You Can't Tell Him may seem like the typical feminist attack on the fact that "it's a man's world." For example, the name of the collection (taken from a line from the first story called How To Leave) is focused on how the female responds to the influence of the male in a relationship. It implies that there is always something "he" must be ignorant of to keep the balance of power even. But I believe Leach is more concerned with women and the choices they make based on their vulnerabilities. This collection explores how often women seem to be locked into untenable situations by their social class, their jealousies, their insecurities, the ravages of divorce, loneliness, a lust for power or a lack of power. The characters find themselves in situations, secret or public, that are very often scandalous. But Leach takes care to show us these women who consciously make these choices because of perfectly rational, logical human dreams and desires; women who, in real life, would very likely be judged and ostracised. She refutes the myth that women, because of our emotional capacity, cannot think and reason through decisions and come to conclusions that are against societal expectations. As I turned pages, I met women with whom I did not immediately identify: Jackie in Infidelity, the married man's side piece who happens to be his wife's best friend. Confessions of a Whore chronicles Alex's deliberate transformation into a high-class call girl. Diane's working holiday in A Season in San Bonita includes a romantic relationship with an adolescent boy. In a way, the author almost mocks the roles that women have been given by society - the lady, the whore, the maid, the other woman, the wife, the divorcee, the single mother, the "cougar," the closet lesbian, the addict - and makes us face them in context and ask ourselves, what would we have done if we were her? The protagonist in Sugar has a simple life. She's a maid at a hotel and she helps support her mother and siblings. A tourist couple approaches her and asks for one night of sex in exchange for money. Our heroine, even more than she longs for more money to help the mother who ignores her, sees the money as the beginning of her journey to being like her new role models-another tourist who can afford the hotel luxury Sugar wants for herself. In Midnight Love, Jo-Jo mistakes the romantic atmosphere for the beginnings of a serious relationship with a stranger. In the harsh morning light, he reveals his true colours, gently brushing her off with $200 Jamaican dollars (equal to about $20). Jo-Jo keeps her dignity and sense of self-worth by leaving and not accepting the money, even though "it could fill a gap" for her as a full-time university student. She rejects the label of "whore" that this man has put on her. These shocking situations often become both a type of trap and a type of redemption for each woman. There is always an epiphany, a journey from innocence into experience through bitterness and pain. It's true female empowerment, but not the type made simplistic by Oprah-driven pop culture and cliché. The title implies that despite the intimacy of relations between the male and female sexually, emotionally, socially, women must hold back part of themselves for self-preservation's sake. Leach's characters make their choices, for better or worse, because that's who they are. And her characters could be any one of us, given right situation, influences and pressures. The truth is that we women are our own worst enemies and we have our own tools for a beautiful survival, and Leach exposes this. She uses the first-person narrative technique in many of the stories; even when she uses the omnipresent narrator, her focus is nearly always from the perspective of her female protagonist. This has the capacity to become tiresome, but the varied lives and tragedies of the characters add balance and throw off some of the monotony. Most of her characters are Jamaican, but not all of them live in Jamaica. The author is not concerned with the physical landscape of her culture as much as it's relational landscape, where women are among the wounded and vulnerable. I would have liked to see more of Jamaican culture and language in the collection, though, and its absence creates a gap. Interestingly, the author "respectfully declined" to answer questions about her work, saying only that: "The hope is, naturally, that readers see the stories and the characters as individual, idiosyncratic, and living realities that they can somehow identify with." What You Can't Tell Him is a great collection from a talented West Indian, hopefully with more great works to come in the future.
Launched last Wednesday at the Red Bones Cafe in St Andrew, the renowned literary festival of readings, discussions, open mike segments and live music staged annually at Jake's in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, will this year be held over the Labour Day weekend, May 23-25. St Lucian Nobel Prize winner, Derek Walcott, will headline the festival this year and leads a superb international posse, which includes American Pulitzer-winning poets Natasha Trethewey and Yusef Komunyaaka. Chris Abani (Nigeria), Valzhyna Mort (Belarus) and Jackie Kay (Scotland) are the other foreign poets on the line-up, while the fiction world will be represented this year by Canada's Lawrence Hill, Gerard Donovan (Ireland), Juan de Recacoechea (Bolivia) and Cuba's Achy Obejas. Jamaica's strong contingent will be led by acclaimed poet and author Lorna Goodison, radio's Beverley Manley and philanthropist Rosie Stone, who will read passages from their new memoirs. Novelists Erna Brodber, Beverley East and Margaret Cezair-Thompson will read from their new books. Jamaican-born writer Thomas Glave will read and discuss selections from his new anthology of gay and lesbian writing from across the region, while poet Andrew 'Kei' Miller will read from his new collection. Other exciting features for Calabash '08 include a 75th anniversary reading of Claude McKay's Banana Bottom, a screening of the late Perry Henzell's second feature film No Place Like Home and performances from reggae legend Bob Andy, Rootz Underground, Ibo Cooper, Seretse Small and Chalice. Speaking at Wednesday's launch, Calabash founder and best-selling author, Colin Channer, said the Calabash festival continues to offer the rare opportunity for Jamaicans to have a close experience with some of the world's best authors. "We continue to work hard to stage the festival annually with international standards. So if something is slightly off it's not good enough because people come expecting the best. They want a great experience and that's what we work to provide each year," Channer told Splash. He adds that for this year's staging of the festival, he's most looking forward to Walcott's long-overdue appearance, the screening of Henzell's film and the impressive number of Jamaicans who will participate. According to Channer, it is always the intention of the organisers, which includes Justine Henzell and Kwame Dawes, to make the festival experience better each year, despite the many challenges. "We are always trying to find ways to make the Calabash experience a more satisfying one. It is extremely crucial for us to present the best each year."
"In many ways, this is a homecoming for me," said Philp, a graduate of the University of Miami's Creative Writing Department. "I gave my first reading at the University of Miami in 1980. At that time, I'd just published Exodus and Other Poems (University of the Virgin Islands), and I was really anxious about reading in front of my peers. Twenty-eight years later, I'm just as anxious about connecting with a younger audience." Nearing Fifty explores contemporary issues such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the death of General Pinochet of Chile and extends the discourse on Caribbean identity with allusions to the work of poets such as Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, Edward Baugh, and Mervyn Morris. The collection, an imaginative investigation of the Caribbean Diaspora, also uses the archetypal stories from the Bible and Yoruba mythology, to explore the historical and cultural links among the English, French, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. Geoffrey Philp is the author of Benjamin, My Son, Uncle Obadiah and the Alien, Twelve Poems and A Story for Christmas, and four poetry collections, including Exodus and Other Poems, Florida Bound, hurricane center, and xango music. He maintains a web site, www.geoffreyphilp.com/generic4.html and a blog @ http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com . He teaches English at Miami Dade College and is the chairperson of the College Prep. Department at the North campus.
House of Nehesi Publishers, 2007, 182 pp., US$15 ISBN: 9780913441879 April 6, 2008: Love, Labor, and Liberation are, as the title of Howard Fergus' seminal study suggests, the three main pillars upon which the works of Lasana Mwanza Sekou rest. They are the constantly recurring themes in his poems, his short stories, and his essays, and Dr. Fergus zeros in on each one of them with the clinical precision of a veteran and renowned word surgeon, dissecting the often seductively simple yet very complex language Sekou employs (or is it, deploys), analyzing his literary style and unearthing the rich texture and very relevant message the multi-talented and prolific poet has been propagating from his earliest works. It is rather surprising that Fergus' book is the first comprehensive study of Sekou's impressive body of work to date, and given all the awards, accolades, and recognition that this work and Sekou himself have been receiving lately, Love Labor Liberation, may be the most important reward the poet may actually covet. Surely, it is a befitting gift, coming as it does on the 25th anniversary of House of Nehesi Publishers, a small publishing outfit that has published the likes of George Lamming, Kamau Brathwaite, Amiri Baraka and Chiqui Vicioso - and founded by Sekou who serves as its projects director. Fergus does not hide his admiration for Sekou and his work, an unstinted admiration which is pervasive throughout Love Labor Liberation, and although he calls his incisive study "an introduction to Sekou's work as poet, story-teller, presenter of dramatic monologues and essayist," (p. xi) the book more than introduces Sekou - who by now should need no introduction - but rather paints a compelling picture of the outstanding talent he sometimes elevates hyperbolically to the ranks of Shakespeare et al. Fergus writes with an intimate, very personal knowledge of Sekou's creative work, taking us through the labyrinths of the poet's political commitment, cultural activism, and social consciousness from the time he became a literary toddler (Moods for Isis) to his maturity in The Salt Reaper and 37 Poems. It is a very exciting and rewarding journey, with Fergus as a tireless and sympathetic guide. I am tempted to say that it probably takes a "small islander" to know another "small islander" so well, but there is absolutely nothing small nor insular in neither Sekou's work or world view, or in Fergus' authoritative study of it. As permanent themes, love, labor and liberation weave into one another in the form of a trinity, sometimes indistinguishable one from the others, and other times as independent poles on which Sekou choreographs a literary flag dance. Fergus captures the essence of each pole in a magistral manner, and unravels the rich tapestry of meanings they contain. In fact, the order perhaps needs to be reversed: Sekou inexorably sees liberation as top of his revolutionary agenda, a liberation that is engendered by labor and which in itself requires labor for its sustenance; and labor which is the midwife of love and thrives on it. In six insightful chapters, Fergus takes us through Sekou's poetry and prose, from his teenage beginnings to the ripeness of his voice in Brotherhood of the Spurs, Salt Reaper and the journalistic 37 Poems. He highlights correctly the influence of Brathwaite, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and others on Sekou's works, but may have ignored the impact African-American writers such as Nikki Giovanni and Amiri Baraka, the reading style of The Last Poets and even Gil Scott-Heron, have also had in shaping Sekou's outlook and radical voice. But Fergus eloquently establishes Sekou's pan-Caribbean, pan-African and universal credentials, while being totally faithful to his St. Martin roots. Sekou, as Fergus points out, is a relentless champion of St. Martin independence, a believer and advocate of its reunification (at present the island is a Franco-Dutch con-dominium). But from such local politics, Sekou-who is an irrepressible activist in the island's Independence movement-sets his sights steadfastly on universal goals. And Fergus hits the nail on the head when he dedicates a whole chapter to "Sekou and Culture," because for the poet, cultural liberation is imperative to all other freedoms and our collective development; it is what drives political, social and economic liberation. For Sekou, liberation is a labor of love as well as labor and love. In other words, his anthem could be Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" in which the reggae icon declares: "none but ourselves can free our minds." Sekou is not interested in the blame game, but in a struggle (labor) that would free our minds and free up our genius to set us on the path of true human development. Fergus powerfully sums up this aspect of Sekou's philosophy when he states that (for the poet) "No feeble investment can achieve liberation and self-determination." (p. 92) Fergus not only draws on his own remarkable knowledge of Sekou's works, but also completes his erudite study with copious references to virtually everyone who has written about Sekou, including the present reviewer. "It is they (the reviewers) who have helped establish Sekou as an abiding force in literature," he writes. (p. 154) The book concludes with Fergus unabashedly heaping praise on Sekou. "Even if Lasana M. Sekou is no longer perceived as a miracle, he is, at least, a wonder." (p. 155) The real wonder is why it has taken so long for a book like Fergus' to see the light of day. However, it sure would not be a miracle if it sparks more interest in Sekou's work, as it is apt to.Editor's Note: Fabian A. Badejo is the author of Claude - A Portrait of Power (1989) and Salted Tongues Modern Literature in St.Martin (2003).
Since writing his authoritative dissertation on the Caribbean beginning with the West Indies Federation, thirty years ago, Payne, now a Professor at Sheffield University in England, has published extensively on the twists and turns of the Caribbean effort at regional integration.Now he has produced an insightful work, "The Political History of CARICOM" in which he posits the view that what CARICOM has done over the years of its existence is "promote the co-existence of regional integration at one level with regional fragmentation at another". As he explains it: CARICOM has "rendered workable and relatively stable the interaction of the two forces that have pulled the English-speaking Caribbean apart for three centuries or more". According to Professor Payne, the institution of CARICOM has managed to establish "no more than a working modus vivendi of the two opposing forces of integration and fragmentation" and "as such CARICOM inevitably remains intrinsically a prey to interruptions of that fragile coexistence". One suspects that Payne is right in this assessment. For, even in the seminal work by the West Indian Commission in 1992, "Time for Change" and in subsequent expert recommendations to CARICOM heads of Government, there was a marked reluctance to call for a political union of CARICOM states. Instead, there were repeated assertions that CARICOM would remain "a community of sovereign states". The West Indian Commissioners and the expert groups feared that, if they recommended a political union, even though many of them would have considered it the right thing to do, the detractors of regional integration in several CARICOM countries, but particularly Jamaica, would have pounced on it as justification for abandoning CARICOM altogether. The experts did, three times in three separate reports, recommend the establishment of a CARICOM Commission (much like the European Union Commission) to be a motor for driving the organisation forward. But, as Payne points out, Heads of Government rejected the idea. Fearing that a Commission would make decisions affecting their national situations, the government leaders chose instead to set up a rotating three-man Bureau from amongst themselves. The Bureau has not proven to be dynamic or commanding since it also can not make decisions that might affect national sovereignty. Despite all this, the notion of a political union continues to haunt the psyche of some Caribbean leaders particularly when they are confronted with economic conditions that challenge their capacity to satisfy the expectations of their people or provide them the level of security they want. Thus, just last month came the latest announcement of a possible political union of countries in the Caribbean by Prime Ministers Patrick Manning and Ralph Gonsalves of Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Within a week, the Prime Minister of St Lucia disassociated his government from the proposal, and Prime Minister Bruce Golding of Jamaica let it be known that Jamaica had long rejected this idea and would not be entertaining it, though he had no problem with any group of countries in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) that wished to pursue it. All other CARICOM governments remained silent. In an earlier commentary ("Caribbean Political Union: Dreaming Again"), I discussed the enormous difficulties that a political union of the proposed four countries alone would pose, even assuming that a consensus exists amongst all their populations and it is by no means obvious that such a consensus does exist. I also pointed out that the basic framework for a political union exists more among the members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) who already share many of the fundamentals of a Union including a common currency, a common Central Bank, a common judiciary and the rudiments of a regional security system. Were all of the OECS members to enter collectively a political union with Trinidad and Tobago, it would make more sense and be more practical. Such a union could cause Barbados to consider participation seriously, and, this new national entity could be part of CARICOM with Jamaica, Guyana, Belize and Suriname. I have deliberately omitted the Bahamas which is still not a member of the Common Market even though it is a member of the Community. The relationship with the Bahamas would continue much the same as it does now, until that country recognises the value that membership of the Common Market not the political union - brings to it. Similarly Jamaica, Guyana, Belize and Suriname would remain individual members of CARICOM as they now are and continue to work diligently toward the perfection of the Common Market. For them, matters such as a Single Economy and membership of a political union would be deferred. Haiti poses enormous problems on all fronts. And, while CARICOM member states will do what they can to bring Haiti into all of its arrangements, realistically this will take time. In his book, Payne concludes that CARICOM is not "strictly speaking an integration movement at all, if the term 'integration' is considered to have anything to do with the emergence of a new and separate community of identity into which previous national identities are progressively submerged". Payne argues that CARICOM "has been aimed, not at the replacement of national and political action, but at the very opposite, its reinforcement". In other words, CARICOM's purpose for the political leaders of its member states is not to work progressively to one Caribbean nation in a political union, but, instead to utilise the benefits of collective actions that individual states can not afford to take by themselves to keep those very individual states alive. There may be much in what he says. "The Political History of CARICOM" is published by Ian Randle (Jamaica) ISBN: 978-976-637-292-7.
The enlightening collection of seven books focuses on various major aspects of the region's economic integration movement that is now in its 35th year of existence. These include: - Caricom Single Market and Economy-Genesis and Prognosis, jointly edited by Professor Kenneth Hall, former UWI Principal, Mona Campus and current Governor General of Jamaica and Myrtle Chuck-A-Sang, Project Director for the UWI/Caricom publications. Based on informed essays and discourses by some of the region's key players and commentators, in governance politics; integration processes, academia, social and economic developments; international trade, labour and law, this publication, as explained, was prepared with four primary groups in mind-laypersons; students; academicians and politicians. - New Directions As one of two major publications commissioned as part of activities to mark the 30th anniversary of Caricom, the concluding chapter on Beyond Thirty-Charting New Directions, this book concludes with the observation that: "The "lives of the Caricom people continue to hover in the shadow of a gap between aspiration and fulfilment; between the potential for betterment and the reality of betterment... "The ominous look created by pressures from the domestic and international environment serve to urgenty remnd that a people's welfare is an outcome of the interaction with the local and global environment and of the quality and functioning of the institutions to shape this interaction...." - Caricom-Our Caribbean Community: An Introduction is a relevant companion publication, perhaps serving as more as a reference source of basic information for students and researchers, which was also done to coincide with the Community's 30th anniversary and released two years earlier prior to the current collection. A 503-page publication, it was offered by the Community Secretariat as an "extraordinarily valuable resource for young Caribbean." Other publications released as part of the UWI/Caricom Project are: -Production Integration in CARICOM From Theory To Action, edited by Denis Benn (Michael Manley Professor of Public Affairs/Public Policy, UWI Mona) and Kenneth Hall. Based on the outcome of a high-level seminar that was organised by the UWI, it reflects the thinking of academics, policy makers in government and the private sector as well as regional institutions who have sought to identify the opportunities for promoting production ingtegration in CARICOM as well as the policy and institutional arrangements that will be necessary to achieve its objective. - Understanding International Trade-A Caricom Perspective, by Edwin Laurent, former Brussels-based ambassador to the European Union for countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and current head of International Trade and Regional Cooperation at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. In a lucid account of some one hundred pages, that is updated to then current negotiations between the Caribbean and the EU for an Economic Patnership Agreement (EPA), the author explains the complexities, intricacies, diplomatic footworks and challenges that face small and developing states in interational trade in a globalised world. In discussing "the way forward", Laurent argues that to be successful in the pursuit of their objectives, "small countries lke those of CARICOM have no option but to be ambitious and courageous". He feels that, when necessary, "they will even have to be prepared to change the premises of the debate, expanding it to encompass more fundamental issues such as development considerations, equity and the right of all countries to participate on a sustainable basis in the global trading system..." Interestingly, some of these very considerations had been raised in the controversial arguments over the EPA negotiations concluded between the Caribbean and the Europan Commission.
"The Other Side of The House" will be available from Canadian bookstores and from Global Publications in Canada, and from bookstores in the U.S.A and from Xlibris, a partner of Random House U.S.A.
His story is narrated in 11 compelling chapters that tell a tragic story of the destruction of a young firefighter's promising career and life, and the fortitude of a wife and mother as she fights to hold a stressed and divided family together. A press release issued on the website Lulu.com said a synopsis of empirical research data explores the etiology of this psychological disorder that, in 1992, cost the US economy $246 billion in lost and impaired productivity. Additionally, practically resources for the at-risk or addicted are presented in the novel to help families better navigate the challenging and complex paths of alcoholism prevention and recovery. Pablo has used his creative flair to accentuate the reading experience; nuances and detail are amplified with figurative imagery and cadence, taking the reader on a dramatic retrospective tour of his early childhood and teenage years in rural Guyana. According to release, the tropical breeze of the Berbice River is felt as he describes, though a child's eye, his first ferry ride with the family aboard the motor vessel Torani; the colourful and festive pageantry of the Christmas season is vividly seen in his recollections of masquerade bands. But the beauty of the Guyanese culture is contrasted with destructive social pressures that promote and glamorise alcohol use, sexual promiscuity and marital infidelity. In the novel, Pablo's father was forced to drink El Dorado rum at age 13, initiating a love affair that ends tragically, 39 years later with his death from cirrhosis of the liver. My Poor Dad may be purchased as an e-Book, soft cover or hard cover at www.lulu.com/content/2127863.
With more than 70 photos, the book showcases the Mighty 741 foot single drop Kaieteur Water Falls, virgin forests, the Essequibo River and the Rupununi Savannahs as well as other areas of the interior. The book will significantly open up the views of travelers world-wide on the challenges that await them in the huge rain forests, and bring them face to face with the large number of birds, animals, and the largest eagle in the world as well as the largest alligator. There seems to be a new trend where travelers prefer something other than the sand, sun and the beach and yearn for something different. Guyana is the ideal destination for them as they can blaze a new trail for themselves, meet some of the challenges of trekking in the interior and carve out a footpath in the jungle. Historical monuments included in the book include the Stabroek Market, St. Georges Cathedral, the Umana Yana, the Red House, the Lighthouse, Parliament Buildings, the statue of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, the founder of trade union in the Commonwealth Caribbean, and the Historic City Hall, among others. Ali has been practicing journalism for the past 50 years. His two previous books at "The Rise of the Phoenix In Guyana's turbulent Politics, which covers 50 years of the political development in Guyana. His second book was Muslims in American following The Catastrophic Tragedy of 911. He is the former Editor in Chief of the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation and Correspondent for the BBC, Reuters of London, Gemini News Service of London, the Caribbean News Agency, Radio Antilles and currently writes for www.jetsettersmagazine.com. He is currently Assistant Editor of Caribbean voice newspaper. The book is available at LULU.com
Inspired by the author's own life, HerStory is a personal testimony to all of Barova's children around the world. By writing this book, the author found peace by acknowledging her true feelings about her past. She was able to see humor in situations she once considered bad, and it is her hope that the book will encourage others to explore their own hearts and minds. For more information or to request a free review copy, members of the press can contact the author at zeruah2001-book@yahoo.com. HerStory is available for sale online at www.zeruahproductions.com/HerStory.html and from BookSurge (866) 308-6245 Ext.5692, and through additional wholesale and retail channels worldwide. About the Author: Ingrid Walter Campbell holds a master's degree in forensic science and an MBA from Pace University in New York City. She resides in Ramapo, New York and is currently working on a sequel with a tantalizing name.
For nearly fifty years, ICNY has been integrating immigrants from countries all over the world into New York City's cultural fabric, and therefore understands the urgency of eradicating illiteracy in our member's native countries. Nicole Titus, also an advocate for the cause, will lead the discussion on the topic with ICNY members and volunteers. The workshop will take place on Thursday, March 20th from 2:00 to 3:00pm on the 7th floor of 50 West 23rd Street. Ms. Titus will also be sharing an excerpt from her novel, Akin to No One, which is based on her own observations while growing up in Haiti, and tells the story of a peasant girl whose sole desire is to learn how to read and write in a country where literacy is not a birthright. According to Ms. Titus, "When one child is illiterate it's one genius wasted. That's one genius too many, and we are all the poorer for itIlliteracy robs the human spirit of its ability to believe in itself and to excel, and this we should never be party to in a civilized world. It is my hope that Akin to No One will motivate people everywhere to do all that they can to help eliminate these ills in their communities."
Author: Juliet Barclay Illustrations: Xiomara Sera Publisher: Macmillan Caribbean March 2, 3008: Pry open the cover and the magical world
of Miri and the Magic Door. Meet Miri, a little girl living
in the picturesque capital of Cuba. On what seemed like an ordinary
day, Miri wakes up to find the mysterious appearance of a 'blue
door with rusty hinges' in the wall of her house.
The department has taken the opportunity offered by Lamming's presence on campus as Writer in Residence at the Centre to mark the occasion of his recently celebrated 80th birthday. This significant moment is not only a chance to reflect on the achievements of Lamming himself, but on the regional literature to which he has contributed so much. Myth And Archive Professor Sandra Pouchet Paquet of the University of Miami, author of The Novels of George Lamming (1982), will give a lecture entitled George Lamming's Serial Art: Myth And Archive. George Lamming will himself respond to the Lecture, after which the principal will host a reception. Lamming is widely known as the author of one of the foundational texts of West Indian literature, In The Castle Of My Skin (1953), as well as being the author of five other novels: The Emigrants (1954), Of Age And Innocence (1958), Seasons of Adventure (1960), Water With Berries (1971), and Natives Of My Person (1972) and the long essay, The Pleasures Of Exile (1960). In more recent years his role as a public intellectual has been shaped by his interviews and speeches, which have been brought together in Conversations (1992) and more recently still he published a small volume of essays, Coming, Coming, Coming, Home , (1995). All are invited to the Lamming Lecture and the Principal's Reception which follows. (PR)
Title: Eros Muse - poems and essays Author: Opal Palmer Adisa Publisher: Africa World Press, Inc. Reviewer: Barbara Nelson February 24, 2008: Jamaican-born poet and prose writer Opal Palmer Adisa says in her book, Eros Muse , "Writing is an orgasmic rapture that allows me to participate and enjoy life on multiple levels, through many people and at different periods in time." She loves writing. Her first stories, she says, were composed as a child in her native country while she "laid nestled in the tall grasses, peeling away the sharp skin of the cane with my teeth and feeling deep pleasure as the sweet, sticky juice trickled down my cheeks onto my neck." Early in life she was attracted to sounds and "movements caught hold of my breath ... market women balancing huge baskets on their heads ..." and she read and memorised poems by British and American poets. However, it was not until she moved to New York at age 16 that she read a book or poem written by a black person. Sketches about black life "I was introduced to Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Jean Toomer," she writes. Jean Toomer, an American writer (1894-1967) was a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance. He is known for one work, Cane - a collection of short stories, poems and sketches about black life in rural Georgia and the urban north. That book, Cane , was most responsible for Opal's decision to become a writer. Through the African American writers she discovered Caribbean and African writers when she went on to Hunter College. Later, she met Trinidadian painter and poet LeRoy Clarke and heard Sonia Sanchez, "a black woman ... spewing fiery words, resonating truth." These people launched her career as a poet and writer. Some years later, University of the West Indies teachers, Mervyn Morris and Kamau Brathwaite, mentored her. Then she decided to incorporate the Jamaican language into her work after she studied the work of Louise Bennett. Opal Palmer Adisa's book is a series of essays, poems and journals. In over 159 pages she tells of her love affair with her muse - " ... it was not i who went in search of his ardor i ignored him for as long as I could but he always shadowed me" She is a Caribbean poet and prose writer and mother of three. Her essays tell of her dual role as mother and writer and how she juggles the tasks. She vows to use her writing in service of her community, "because that is how I was reared", and to ensure that the Caribbean will remain an independent, safe place for generations yet unborn. In her Journal Entries she brings the reader into some intimate experiences: "March 1985 - I thought writing a poem and completing a collection was a miracle, but this child, my precious Shola, is my best poem yet. "April 1985 - I wrote poems while Shola suckles at my breast. I often fall asleep in the rocking chair, Shola asleep in my arms, milk trickling from my breasts while my poems float around, a halo that protects us." Opal is a talented writer with seven titles to her credit, including her first novel, It Begins With Tears (1997) set in Kristoff village in rural Jamaica.
Authors have described the events in 1763-64 variously as follows:- Craton, McGowan and Schuler referred to them as a 'rebellion'. Shahabuddeen and Thompson described them as a 'revolt'. Daly considered them to be an 'uprising'. Kwayana was in no doubt that the events amounted to a 'Revolution' and Sancho used the descriptions 'rebellion', 'revolt' and 'Revolution' in his verse. The evidence suggests that the events which unfolded from February 23, 1763, amounted to much more than a 'Great Uprising'. What may initially have been a 'rebellion', 'revolt' or 'uprising' of enslaved Africans, was a highly organised operation, and soon developed into a full-scale revolutionary war of liberation waged by the Africans. Ms Cameron referred to the Africans as 'revolutionaries'. Kofi (Coffy, Cuffy), Akara (Accara), Atta, Accabre and others, converted the war of liberation into a major Revolutionary War of Independence against the Dutch colonists. They had mobilised the vast majority, approximately 3,000 of the 3,833 Africans, excluding the Dutch Company's enslaved Africans, though several of them were pressured into joining the revolutionaries. An army was assembled and trained in military discipline. The Africans formed their own government, which was constituted in a similar way to the Dutch administration. Kofi was their declared Governor. A Court of Policy was constituted, and an official Executioner was appointed. The Africans had taken over most of the plantations in Berbice from the Dutch owners, and had maintained them in full operation, in the production of their crops for the greater part of the war. Kofi was also appointed as the army Commander with the rank of Captain. The army's ranks were set along Dutch military patterns. Captain Akara was the field commander, and there were lieutenants, ensigns and privates. At one point in the war, several European soldiers had deserted the Dutch and joined the African forces. It was also part of Kofi's plan to spread the revolution to Demerara, but that did not come to fruition. A remarkable feature of the Revolutionary War of Independence was that Kofi had written several letters to the Dutch Governor. He appeared to have been aware of the importance of having terms and conditions of an international treaty recorded in writing, and of the international law principle of good faith in any such diplomatic negotiations. There is evidence of his contact with the free African communities in Suriname , and he would have been conversant with the terms of the peace treaty of independence negotiated between the Saramaka people and the Dutch in 1762. The Saramaka people had formerly been enslaved Africans who had escaped from the Suriname plantations, and had fought a war of liberation for over a hundred years. The 1762 treaty formally acknowledged their independence from the Dutch and their right to occupy a large part of Suriname as an autonomous community. Kofi's letters were addressed to "Your Excellency" and "Your Late Honour", and he sought to negotiate as a statesman, on an equal footing with the Dutch governor. In these letters, Kofi made it clear that he was negotiating terms as Governor of the Africans, and at one point, proposed a partition of the colony into Upper Berbice as an independent state for Africans, separate from Lower Berbice , which would remain as a Dutch plantation state. He also declared that the Africans would not be enslaved again. Kofi's ultimate aim of a separate state was not realised, for Atta and some others in the ranks objected to the negotiations with the Dutch. Kofi seemed to have had faith in the Dutch governor's willingness to negotiate, but he was sadly mistaken. The Dutch governor stalled to allow time for reinforcements to arrive. Following dissension in the African ranks, mainly between the colonised and the non-colonised Africans, Kofi committed suicide. The Dutch eventually overcame the Africans, by importing large numbers of European forces, and by obtaining the support of a considerable number of the Carib Amerindian people. Although his ultimate aim of a separate independent state for Africans was not realised, Kofi carved an important niche in international legal and constitutional history. The Berbician Revolutionary War of Independence preceded the American, French and Haitian Revolutionary Wars. Kofi was one of the first, if not the first, of African leaders to have waged a Revolutionary War of Independence, and to have succeeded in constituting a government, which administered the greater part of a European colony for several months. It was a monumental achievement for a man who had been enslaved from his childhood.
She told those gathered outside the new University of the West Indies Press home on the Mona campus that Archibald Monteath, Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian came out of a text her husband introduced in the 1970s, "before he was a professor". It was the story of Archibald Monteath , a slave who bought his freedom in 1837 and died in 1864. It was thought that there could have been a family connection, through Rupert Lewis, and Warner-Lewis said "my initial aim was to prove this link". However, after doing a genealogy search, the closest she came to a connection was working on the same estate in St Elizabeth, a picture of which is on the front of the new book. "I had to decide," Warner-Lewis said of reaching that sticking point in her research. She choose to "follow the lead of Dr John Aarons" in expanding on an existing text. So Archibald Monteath, Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian , which occupied her since 1992, and took her to Eastern Nigeria, Australia, Scotland and across Jamaica "is the result of Aarons' embryonic work". Guest speaker Professor Patrick Bryan of the Department of History at Mona traced the life of a man who was renamed Toby and then Archibald Monteath as told by Warner-Lewis. Among the chapters is one on African spirituality and two on the planter Monteath family, from whom the slaves got their surname. Bryan outlined five stages in Monteath's life, born sometime after 1789. As he approached his teenage years, the only son of his parents was tricked and sold into slavery. The second stage of "betrayal", Bryan said, was being transported across the sea, then there was enslavement on the plantation. The fourth stage was conversion to Christianity and the fifth and final his decision to purchase his freedom in 1837, one year ahead of Emancipation. Monteath, described as "a tall, sturdy man with black skin and thick, wooly hair", did not participate in the 1831 Sam Sharpe rebellion. There were chuckles when Bryan pointed out that Sharpe took the path of resistance and died on the gallows, while Monteath chose accommodation, progressed financially (he successfully cultivated 15 acres of land) and died peacefully in his bed. "We all choose," Bryan said, adding that when we realise that there are really no stark choices we will realise that both Sharpe and Monteath, "in his own way and facing his own options, did the right thing". And Warner-Lewis also pointed out that Monteath was not a rebel nor a Maroon. Buying freedom "His method was to excel in the tasks he was given to do, save his money and buy his freedom. That was the legal option open to him." Dr Mawuena Logan of the Department of Literatures in English described Archibald Monteath, Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian as a " tour de force ", clarifying the Monteath story was first told to a pastor in 1853 and published in 1864, the year he died. "The narrative was silent on the practical horror of plantation life," Logan said, as it concentrated on the spiritual aspect of the tale. Warner-Lewis, through research, has written "to fill in the gaps and moments of silence in Archibald's narrative". And Mrs Linda Speth, general manager of the University of the West Indies Press, told the gathering that based on orders already in, it was expected that Archibald Monteath, Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian will be reprinted in the near future
The narrative he presents is not complicated, but to present it he must expose countless lies and half truths and brilliantly explore many simple questions that corporate journalists invariably failed to ask. The story the corporate press and even some alternative media presented to the world, when it was coherent at all, is roughly what follows. Aristide was elected Haiti's president in 1990 in the country's first free and fair election. He was overthrown in 1991 by the Haiti's army at the behest of Haiti's elite who feared that he may lift the poor out of poverty and powerlessness. The US, despite some misgivings, restored him to power in 1994 after economic sanctions failed to budge the military junta that replaced him. He stood aside while his close ally, Rene Preval, occupied the presidency for several years. In 2000 Aristide was brought to power through rigged elections. By the end of 2003 Aristide had lost popular support and important allies due to corruption and violence. He could only keep power because he had armed gangs in the slums. In February of 2004, faced not only with a broad based political opposition, but by armed rebels and gangs who had turned against him, Aristide resigned and asked the US to fly him to safety as the rebels were about to overrun the capital. Hallward shows that barely anything about the widely accepted narrative above is true. The US was behind the first coup that ousted Aristide in 1991, and supplied the junta through a selectively porous embargo. It restored Aristide in 1994 because the political price of playing along with the junta had become exorbitant. After he was restored, the US made sure that Haiti's security forces were infiltrated by henchmen of the military regime, and leaned on Aristide to implement unpopular economic policies - far beyond what he had agreed to as a condition for being restored. He resisted US pressure for further concessions on economic policy, and disbanded the Haitian army over strong US objections. In response, the US spent 70 million dollars between 1994 and 2002 directly on strengthening Aristide's political opponents. Over these years many of Aristide's allies among the "cosmopolitan elite", as Hallwards calls them, became bitter enemies. Often their resentment stemmed from being passed over by Aristide for jobs or political endorsement in favour of grassroots activists from the Lavalas movement. Some defectors from Aristide's camp, like Evans Paul, had impressive track records in the fight against pre-1990 dictatorships and against the 1991 coup, but by 2000 most had joined a coalition with the far right (known as Democratic Convergence) which was cobbled together with US money. Invariably, these former Aristide allies lost almost all popular support after defecting to the US camp. However they were well connected with foreign NGOs and the international press. The elections of 2000 were not only free and fair, but the results completely in line with what secret US commissioned polls had predicted. Aristide's opponents were trounced but successfully sold the lie that the 2000 elections were fraudulent. The US (joined by the EU and Canada) blocked hundreds of millions of aid from Aristide's government. An unsuccessful coup attempt by far right paramilitaies took place in 2001. Other deadly attacks on Lavalas partisans took place during Aristide's second term, but went largely unnoticed by the international press and NGOs. In contrast, reprisals on Aristide's opponents were widely reported. By late February of 2004 both the political and armed opposition were in danger of being exposed as frauds. US destabilization efforts, though successful in many ways, had failed to produce an electable opposition to Aristide and his Famni Lavalas party. The rebels, whose collusion with the political opposition was becoming difficult for the corporate press to ignore, were in no position to take Port-au-Prince. Hence, the US moved in to complete the coup themselves (with crucial assistance from France and Canada) and not through Haitian proxies as they had in 1991. There does not yet exist, if it ever will, the kind of detailed internal record that exists for U.S. backed coups in Chile and Argentina during the 1970s. Though important fragments have been uncovered by researchers like Anthony Fenton, Yves Engler, Isabel Macdonald and Jeb Sprague, Peter Hallward makes his case by carefully gathering uncontroversial facts (like the presidential election results of 2006 in which the pro-coup politicians were crushed) and then applying logic and common sense. Hallward might have gone into more detail about how Aristide kept most Haitians on his side in the face of such a relentless onslaught from such powerful enemies. The social programs Aristide's government implemented, the inclusive and participatory nature of the Famni Lavalas Party were certainly mentioned in the book but they should have been elaborated on. There are crucial lessons to be learned there for people's movements around the world.. Hallward is accurate in describing his book as "an exercise in anti-demonization, not deification." He wrote that if Aristide "shares some of the responsibility for the debacle of 2004 it is because it occasionally failed to act with the sort of vigor and determination its most vulnerable supporters were entitled to expect.". Hallward says a certain amount of complacency took hold in Fanmni Lavalas due to its popularity, and that it was sometimes slow to recognize enemies and opportunists within its ranks, but Hallward should have placed more emphasis on his concluding point that the renewal of Haitian democracy "will require the renewal of emancipatory politics within the imperial nations themselves." It is mainly we, within the imperial nations, who need to do the soul searching and analysis of what we should have done better.. Aristide hinted at this crucial point in his interview with Hallward: "The real problem isn't really a Haitian one, it isn't located within Haiti. It is a problem for Haiti that is located outside Haiti! " Editor's Note: Joe Emersberger contributes to HaitiAnalysis.com
Lovelace will take the spotlight at the Evening Gala scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on February 22, at the UWI Centre for Language Learning (CLL) Lecture Theatre. Lovelace will share the spotlight with UWI Lecturers and recently published authors Dr Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw and Dr Jennifer Rahim, who will also present their works at the gala event. Organised by Department of Liberal Arts, the Campus Literature Week will also feature daily lunch hour readings (12 noon - 1 p.m.) in Room 1, Faculty of Humanities and Education New Building. In recognition of the 60th Anniversary of the University, the event will this year focus on writers affiliated with the St Augustine Campus. There will be particular emphasis on the works of graduates and current students of the Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) programme in Creative Writing. For further information, please contact Rhoda Bharath at 779-7457 or Yvette Barrimond at 662-2002 Ext 2031 or 3280.
Fidel Castro: My Life is an undiluted look into the mind of the 81-year-old Cuban leader at a critical point in the communist-run island's history; Cuba's parliament in late February will reveal whether Castro will remain as president or retire. Translated into English by Andrew Hurley, the highly sympathetic "spoken biography" sprang from multiple interviews Castro gave over two years - before getting sick - to Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde diplomatique. The first edition of the book was published in Spain as Fidel Castro, Biografia a Dos Voces, and an earlier English version of the book was published in Great Britain by Allen Lane, of Penguin Books Ltd. Written in a question-and-answer style, Castro tells of growing up on a rustic homestead, his Jesuit education and the revolutionary fight that propelled him to power almost 50 years ago. He talks about Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and his younger brother Raul, the designated successor leading Cuba's caretaker government during his convalescence. Castro weighs in on Cuba's use of capital punishment, past treatment of gays and dissidents, and relations with ten American presidencies. He also opines on world leaders he met during his near half-century in power, including Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Mao Zedong. And he analyses world events, saying the Soviet Union "should have repaired itself and never destroyed itself," while communist China is "a great power that held to certain fundamental principles, that sought unity, that didn't fragment its forces." The book's detailed notes and chronology make it easy to look up Castro's views on various subjects and events, and will surely become a must-have for Cuba scholars. But it disappoints on Castro's highly guarded personal life. Ramonet says in his introduction that no subject was off-limits during interviews conducted from early 2003 until December 2005, but he says it "never crossed my mind" to ask Castro about his private life, including the current wife and their five sons of whom few Cubans are even aware. After Castro underwent intestinal surgery and provisionally ceded power to his brother on July 31, 2006, he spent the early part of his recovery correcting and expanding his responses. While many journalists would cringe at an interview subject editing their own comments, Ramonet says the changes "enriched the book enormously." The key additions were Castro's expanded remembrances of his mother, letters he exchanged with Nikita Khrushchev during the 1962 missile crisis, his actions during the short-lived 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and two 1991 letters he sent to Saddam Hussein urging him to withdraw from Kuwait during the Gulf War. Castro also ponders Cuba's future. He notes that the United States failed to crush his government with decades of hostility and a trade embargo, and warns that if Cuba does not wipe out systemic corruption, "This Revolution can destroy itself ... and we would be to blame."
It is the first book to tackle minority business development issues within the context of supplier diversity. The book is written in the tradition of several successful books, including Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager, Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese? and Patrick Lencioni's The Five Temptations of a CEO. These books teach business principles through fables involving made-up characters, companies and conflicts. The first part of Tales My Grandma Told Me is the fictional account of Jack Gainey, an African-American corporate executive who inadvertently becomes an entrepreneur when he is suddenly laid off. Through events that flow from his loss of work Jack discovers that in order to succeed, he must quickly learn how to launch a company, build relationships, recruit talent and operate within the world of corporate supplier diversity programs. Throughout the book, Jack is guided by the voice of his deceased grandmother who overcame tremendous obstacles in her generation to become a successful business owner. Jack applies principles learned from "Grandma" to ultimately succeed in business. In the second part of the book, the author uses anecdotes from his personal experience to teach ten success principles for Minority businesses and ten success principles for corporations in the supplier diversity arena. Some of the minority business principles are: ethnic status is not enough to win and keep business contracts. Minority businesses must develop businesses of size and scale that offer real solutions to corporations. Conversely, corporations should respond to the business imperative for including diverse suppliers, demonstrate commitment within their programs and think creatively about minority supplier development, among other principles. He closes each set of principles with a challenge to minority businesses and corporations alike to stay the course, to continually grow in commitment, know-how and execution of what it takes to make supplier diversity and inclusion a reality. About A. Wayne Gill A. Wayne Gill is an entrepreneur, attorney, and equity partner in Adorno & Yoss LLP. With over 250 attorneys practicing in ten states and internationally, Adorno & Yoss is the largest certified minority-owned law firm in the United States. Gill represents some of the top corporations in the United States, including AT&T, Hilton Hotels Corporation, American Express, and Shell Oil Company. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut where he majored in English and was a Teaching Assistant to distinguished Professor of English, James Miller. He later graduated from The George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C., where he obtained Honors in Trial Advocacy and was a clerk to the Honorable Arthur L. Burnett, Sr. of the District of Columbia Superior Court. Gill is of Jamaican Heritage.
Anthony C. Winkler, author of The Lunatic, to Read from The Duppy at Hue-Man Bookstore
Mention the name Anthony Winkler to any Jamaican or West Indian and you will probably get a blank stare. But say, The Lunatic and that stare will transform into a smile or a burst of laughter. Almost everyone is familiar with the hilarious story of Aloysius, the everyday madman that Winkler writes about in the book and the movie of the same name. The beauty of The Lunatic is the improbability of it: No self-respecting Jamaican woman would have anything to do with a madman, let alone take him to bed, as Helga, the German tourist does. Winkler's skill is his knack for overturning our presumptions and he does it again in his latest book, The Duppy. Published for the first time in the U.S. by Brooklyn's Akashic Books, The Duppy tells the story of one Taddeus Augustus Baps, a 47-year old shopkeeper from Kingston who drops dead unexpectedly. He is found by his maid, who with the gardener, decides to liberate Baps of the wages owed them. It was not "right", she tells the gardner, for an employer to die without giving them notice so they take the two weeks' pay that, by law, they are supposed to get; and Christmas bonus and Easter money and leap year money. Meanwhile, Baps' escort, a neighborhood thief arrives to take him across. Baps cannot believe that a thief could be his guide instead of a barrister or a chartered accountant, and scampers away. But he does not get far. The thief has a few things to teach him about death and dying in Jamaica. His transport to heaven is none other than a minibus, not a chariot or a taxi, and the gateway to heaven is a secret culvert, no bright lights or sweet music as he had seen on American television. Winkler's gift for storytelling, his keen ear for the Jamaican language and his unparalleled sense of humor all come through in The Duppy. At the launch of his book, Dog War, at the Jamaican Consulate last April, he had the audience howling with laughter. The same can be expected when he reads from The Duppy on Friday, February 8 at 6:00 p.m. at Hue-Man Bookstore & Caf?, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd (between 124th & 125th Streets) 212-665-7400.
Anthony C. Winkler was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1942. He was educated at Mt. Alvernia Academy and at Cornwall College, both in Montego Bay; at Citrus College in Glendora, California; and at California State University in Los Angeles. In 1962 he went to California, where he received B.A. and M.A. degrees in English. He returned to Jamaica in 1975; there, he got married. He became a full-time freelance writer in 1976 after moving back to the United States. His first novel, The Painted Canoe was published in 1984 by Kingston publishers (now LMH). This was followed by The Lunatic (1987), The Great Yacht Race (1992), Going to Home to Teach (1995) and The Duppy (1997). In 1991, he wrote the screenplay for the film version of The Lunatic, and in 1999 his original screenplay, The Annihilation of Fish, was filmed in L.A. starring James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, and Margot Kidder.
His most recent novel, Dog War, was published by Macmillan (UK) in 2006 and by Akashic Books (US) in 2006. He resides in Atlanta with his wife, Cathy. Date with a Book is a literary promotion which promotes the work of African, African-American, Caribbean and Diaspora authors. For more information, please call Marcia M. Mayne, 646-541-2543 or email marciam@datewithabook.com.
The novel, fictional, was developed based on some real life experiences of Marville, but he develops his own country, Songhay and people, the Sankore, on which the story is based. Launched in the Moot Court of the Faculty of Law at the Cave Hill Campus on Thursday evening, Dr Jane Bryce, head of the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Literature at the campus said the text had an obvious link to the former colonies and that the author was presenting a new and different concept coining his own language, but that it had similarities to Kamau Brathwaite's work, Oliver Jackman's and Denis Williams' and was very much among the men's books. She said the one weakness in the novel was its single point of view. "Children OfThe Shadows is set in Songhay and is set one week after the coup that killed the president. What is interesting about Songhay is that you cannot picture it as any one particular country, it has English and French creole," she said. Bryce added that the text was not a romantic return to Africa, but there was some raciness, sex and violence. Marville is a former senator, international civil servant, having worked within the United Nations system and CARICOM , a photo journalist, television commentator and columnist. (WB)
Title: Joseph - A Rasta Reggae
Fable The storyteller is Ashanti, or
Sister Shanty, who as a child lived in Dungle - "it was
a dung hill made of garbage dumped there each day", until
they moved to Wareika Hill.
Like his first book, the new book is a compilation of short stories about real life occurrences within the local and international setting which explores moral and social issues that force readers to conduct an introspective look at themselves. The stories are spellbinding, and are written in a serious and humorous fashion, with creative illustrations by several local artists. While admitting that writing a book is not as easy as it may appear, Colebrook, the director of Casino Marketing at Atlantis said he was very pleased to release his second book, and that there have been times when it was "really tough" in terms of trying to organize himself, putting the stories together and combining them with the illustrations. "I wanted to do something that would once again be thought-provoking and something that could touch everybody" said Colebrook. "The stories are life itself ... so I could write each story with passion because I can feel it. I can sense it and I can internalize them. It is my intention to have the reader walk with me through the process and get them right into the story itself." When asked which story was most dear to his heart, Roderick said "Goodbye World," the last feature story in his new book. He noted that although it was the shortest of his stories, it was indeed one of "the toughest to write," because of how personal it was to him. In the story Colebrook pays tribute to his father, who recently passed away. A creative thinker, Colebrook tapped into his marketing skills by ensuring that his new book was made available in audio recordings on compact discs (CD's), giving people several options. They can purchase the book and read for themselves or purchase the CD and simply listen, or they can do both. "The audio CD allows readers an opportunity to hear the author express the book the way he wishes it to be conveyed," he said, "And that makes a difference. So now you can read the book and then listen to the story from the author's point of view and see whether or not your thoughts are the same." He also believes the CD is convenient for those who are pressed for time and may not have time to actually sit down and read. Additionally it provides a unique family time for parents to listen to the audio recording with their children and have a meaningful exchange afterwards. Colebrook's audio books will also assist people who are unable to read. "We always hear about illiteracy in The Bahamas, so now this is a unique opportunity for people who may not be able to read. [They can] listen to the CD and probably follow along in the book while the CD is playing, which can help them with their reading as well," he said. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Hotel Administration, Roderick is a longstanding member of the Toastmasters Organization where he served as President of Club 1600. Colebrook is the Founding President of the Toastmasters Club at Atlantis. He is married to Carla Colebrook (formerly Jones). The couple has two children, Ashlee and Roderick Jr.
According to London Libraries website, "For sometime now the world has been gradually opening itself like a large bouquet of flowering buds. The bouquet has flowers with a variety of colours, scents, forms and structures which have come from different parts of the world and from communities long marginalised. 'London Libraries Recommend...', in its 'Limited Edition' autumn promotion is attempting to bring such a bouquet to the attention of a public - who would not otherwise be aware these flowers existed. In so doing, 'London Libraries Recommend...' cannot but enrich our lives and enlarge our present concept of what it is to be human."
As a Black Canadian, Prince describes her own experiences and those of her friends and colleagues. Throughout the book, Prince attempts to give readers a better understanding of what being black in Canada really means. Prince organizes her essays into four distinct parts, giving readers a succinct view of the maltreatment shown towards blacks living in Canada. These essays introduce readers to a group that does not receive much recognition on a global scale. The first part of the book centers around biographical essays. Prince writes in the first person for many of the essays, allowing readers to connect to the stories on a personal level. In one of her essays entitled "Racism Revisited," Prince describes first-hand the racism she experienced while viewing an apartment. After showing Prince the apartment, the landlady explained that Prince would be unable to rent the apartment because she would be forced to share a bedroom with a white tenant. Prince did not mind this, but as she spoke further with the landlady, she realized that her level of comfort was not the issue in question. Prince recalls, "It finally penetrated my conscious that I was being told that my skin color made me an undesirable person"(29). With this essay, Prince delivers a strong message as she learns that her skin color matters more to others than it does to herself. Racism within institutions is the topic of Prince's second set of essays as she discusses the kinds of social prejudices within universities and cultural groups. Prince pays special attention to the prejudice occurring in Canadian schools, as many children do not even understand the idea of Black History month. In her essay, "Black History Month," Prince recalls an experience she had while speaking at a local school. Prince explains, "One bright little girl raised her hand and asked, 'What is Black pride?' At no point did I speak of this nebulous thing called 'Black pride.' These things need to be taught, not as isolated incidents in Black Heritage classes and Black History Months, they need to be taught as parts of a whole, parts of history"(75). Again, Prince recounts her experiences and analyzes her story in order to create a sense of deeper understanding for those not aware of racism. In the third part of her book, Prince discusses the importance of Black Canadian writers. She also stresses the need for Black Canadian writers to assemble. The essay "Writing Thru Race" focuses on a conference dedicated to the Black writers of Canada and the backlash they received from some white participants. Prince presents readers with her view of the conference as well as opposing sides, allowing readers to make their own decisions regarding the issue of Black Canadian writers. Prince offers readers a collection of her own creative essays in the final part of her book. The essays present the struggles of Black Canadians in a creative way as Prince explains, "In Toronto, it does feel like nobody care whether you living right or wrong -- not even if you living at all! Which bring me to talk 'bout how that is"(126). One of her essays entitled, "Sweet Talk/Fairy Tales/Damsels in Distress/Princesses/Princes/Frogs" explains the ridiculous messages fairy tales give to children. "'Morning Peter! -- Cabbage Ma'am!'" describes the importance of a strong family network as Prince gives some indication of her family life growing up. The essays in Part Four help readers understand Prince's political opinions via creative expression. Althea Prince's essays show her strong dedication to Black Canadians like herself as she helps people understand the prejudice many Black Canadians face due to their racial identity. Prince's innovative essays provide first-hand knowledge of racism, and she shows the effects of racism to people of other cultures who may not share the same experiences. The connection Prince creates with her readers ultimately forces people to critique their own experiences of life. A start to ending racism is knowing what it's like to live in another person's shoes and Prince offers some interesting sizes to try on. Dr. Althea Prince is a professor of sociology, teaching first at York University, and the University of Toronto. She now teaches at Ryerson University while continuing to work on new writing projects. During the years 2002 to 2005, Prince was Managing Editor of the publishing company: Canadian Scholars' Press & Women's Press. Recent books: Loving This Man; Being Black; Ladies of the night and other stories; and The Politics of Black Women's Hair.
The book, which gives detailed and very descriptive accounts of the six days Pantin and 26 other persons were held hostage at TTT during the July 27, 1990, attempted coup was launched yesterday at the Social Sciences Faculty of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine. In his address to those attending the book launch Gordon said, "This book is a prototype of journalism at its best. It is a classical example of strong, insightful, powerful writing." Gordon went on to read gripping excerpts of the book to a very attentive audience. The president of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) Wesley Gibbings who also spoke described Days of Wrath as a testament of Pantin's skills as an extraordinary journalist. He said the fact that Pantin had completed this particular work of journalism suggested there is some room for hope. "The need to grow the flock of readers is matched only by the absolute requirement to cultivate a crop of writers." He went on to invite Pantin to become a mentor in the association's mentorship programme for young Caribbean journalists. As the launch came to a close the floor was opened to those who were also held captive at the television station to share their accounts of the experience. Everyone who spoke, including veteran journalist Jones P Madeira recalled Pantin as being a tower of strength , looking out for the safety of all during those horrendous six days. In his address, however, Pantin shared the honours with Madeira who, he said kept a level head during the ordeal.
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The beauty of the
Caribbean peeps through each story, like a sunset through a window
behind each character, contrasting with political ugliness and
defying rejection. Modern day ennui and frantic urban experiences
lead to a nostalgia for an imagined inner peace attached to the
Caribbean carried around with each character wherever in
the world they are. When the narrator reminisces in 'Remember
who you are' that there 'was really no challenge about the islands',
'they were small and everyone knew each other' the reader senses
discomfort, shame even, as well as guilty pleasure, about his
parochial origins. 
The power and passion
of a once colonised Guyana is thrown into new psychological and
political turmoil as post colonialism creates its own domestic
repression mistakes are repeated but by new people, corruption
is rife and in amongst it all characters are boiling over with
a struggle for identity, belief, meaning and cultural bonds.
As these threads pull together, so there is a sense of equilibrium.
Descriptions of rich Guyanese traditions soak deliciously through
the pages with the warmth of a sweating mango.
An electrifying, mesmerising tale that
interweaves cultural and racial taboos. This novel is populated
with characters haunted by prophecy and destiny as much as by
a disturbing past.
author's
authentic West Indian vernacular-and transports one deep into
the grounded traditions of a harmonious island family. They enjoy
a peaceable existence, and are confronted by the obvious perils
of life, love and marriage, but also suddenly by a presence more
ominous, insidious and decidedly evil. The force visited upon
them at first defies explanation, but ultimately drives them
to examine the spiritual, while nodding to the realities of this
still most intriguing island paradise. Nine Days deftly
explores the realm of dark forces that plague a family balancing
day-to-day life, their traditional beliefs and Christianity in
a way that willingly draws the reader from one engaging chapter
to the next. One of those tomes that, pardon the cliché,
"you simply can't put down," Graham's prose effectually
pulls you in, leaving you yearning to know what happens next
until that inevitable, unexpected climax. You won't be disappointed
in this book, available by phoning: 877/823-9235, by visiting
www.iUniverse.com, www.jamaicasaga.com or through www.amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com and www.booksamillion.com.
walks of life, Shairi's Journey
is a workbook of sorts for self-healing, calling upon the spiritual
guidance of the Creator and the ancestors to walk readers through
the process of transforming their lives after having endured
hardship. Whether a sister is confronted with routine stress,
heartbreak, loneliness or substance, domestic or mental abuse,
each chapter of the book is laced with emotive, poetic prose
and knowing nuggets of wisdom, prayerfully woven together to
help them cope and deliver themselves by drawing upon the inner
strength that is their birthright. Order the book direct from
the publisher at: 1-888/232-4444, Ext. 4 (United States and Canada
only), or 250/383-6864.