November 19, 2007

Mileposts & Caribbean Writers

I’m feelin’ Irie.

And for good reason. In December this blog will be two years old and since I started measuring visitor stats on April 6, 2006, this blog has had over 50,000 visitors. I never thought I’d get this far from those early days when only Rethabile, Stephen, Madbull, Professor Zero, and Anonymous were my only readers.


With the passing of the 50,000 visitor mark, I’ve also been reflecting on how well I’ve lived up to the mission of the blog: to provide readers with information about my writing and the work of contemporary Caribbean and South Florida writers.


Before I go any further (and especially since we are heading into the Thanksgiving season), give thanks to the readers and subscribers who have blessed these pages with their interest. I must also thank those readers who have bought copies of my books either directly from Lulu or from my online bookstore.


Give thanks also to the writers who have shared their stories and who continue to expand our understanding of life in South Florida and the Caribbean.


And, finally, give thanks to the many bloggers who have linked to this site and for increasing the visibility of this blog.


But to the matter at hand and the mission of the blog.


I started re-reading a post, “It’s All About Love” where I created a list of the Caribbean writers that I intended to showcase. Some were famous and some were still relatively unknown. Although I’ve covered many of the writers, I am reminded of the motto of my alma mater: “Fervet opus in campis.


Then, I began thinking about a post by Nicholas Laughlin over at Caribbean Beat, “The West Indian canon?” which was considering “a Caribbean equivalent of the French Bibliotheque de la Pleiade or the Library of America--a uniform series of definitive editions of our major literary works, edited by experts and produced to the highest physical standards.”


It could be done, Nicholas. It could be done. We need to preserve our literature. For what else is literature but memory and promise: who we thought we have been and what we imagine ourselves to be.


Here’s a starting point for a list of writers from Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of Dominica, Haiti, Cuba, Martinique, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the most of the Caribbean:


A Few Caribbean Authors (Poets & Fiction Writers)

A.J. Seymour

A.L. Hendriks

Abdhur Rahman Hopkinson

Achy Obejas

Adisa Andwele (AJA)

Adrian Castro

Afua Cooper

Aida Cartagena Portalatin

Aimé Cesaire

AJ Seymour

Albert Gomes

Albert Helman

Aldo Alvarez

Alecia McKenzie

Alejo Carpentier

Alfred Mendes

Amryl Johnson

Ana Lydia Vega

Andre Alexis

Andrea Elizabeth Shaw

Andrea Levy

Andrew Jefferson-Miles

Andrew Salkey

Andy Taitt

Angela Barry

Annalee Davis

Anson Gonzalez

Anthony C. Winkler

Anthony Kellman

Anthony McNeill

Anton Nimblett

Antonio Benitez Rojo

Arnold Harrichand Itwaru

Assotto Saint

Astrid Roemer

Audre Lorde

Austin Clarke

Barbara Ferland

Basil McFarlane

Belkis Cuza Male

Beryl Gilroy

Brenda Flanagan

Brian Chan

Bruce St. John

C.L.R. James

Carl Jackson

Carolina Hospital

Caryl Phillips

Cecil Gray

Cecil Gray

Celia Alvarez

Cherie Jones

Chiqui Vicioso

Christine Craig

Churaumanie Bissundyal

Claire Harris

Claude McKay

Claudia Rankine

Clem Seecharan

Clyde Hosein

Colin Channer

Colin Robinson

Cynthia James

Cyril Dabydeen

Dale Bisnauth

Danielle Legros Georges

Dany Laferriere

David Chanderbali

David Dabydeen

Dawad Phillip

Deborah Jack

Delores Gauntlett

Denis Williams

Denise deCaires Narain

Denise Harris

Dennis Craig

Dennis Scott

Derek Walcott

Dionne Brand

Donna Weir-Soley

E. A. Markham

E. Mc.G. `Shake' Keane

E.A. Markham

E.M. Roach

Earl Long

Earl Lovelace

Earl McKenzie

Edgar Cairo

Edgar Mittelholzer

Edgardo Sanabria Santaliz

Edouard Glissant

Edward Baugh

Edward Lucie-Smith

Edwidge Danticat

Elaine “Jamaica Kincaid” Potter

Elisa Albo

Elizabeth Nunez

Eric Roach

Eric Walrond

Erna Brodber

Eunice Heath Tate

Faizal Deen

Faustin Charles

Felix Morriseau-Leroy

Frank Collymore

Frank Hercules

Frank Martinus Arion

Frantz Fanon

Fred D’Aguiar

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Garfield Ellis

Garth St. Omer

Geoffrey Drayton

Geoffrey Philp

George Campbell

George Lamming

Gloria Escoffery

Gloria Wekker

Grace Nichols

Guillermo Cabrera Infante

Gustavo Perez-Firmat

Guy Tirolien

Gwyneth Wood

H. Nigel Thomas

H.A. Vaughan

H.D. Carberry

Harischandra Khemraj

Harold "Sonny" Ladoo

Harold M. Telemaque

Hazel Campbell

Hazel Simmons-Mcdonald

Heather Royes

Heberto Padilla

Helen Klonaris

Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool

Honor Ford Smith

Howard A. Fergus

Howard Pitterson

Hubert Harrison

Ian Bethell Bennett

Ian Craig

Ian McDonald

Ismith Khan

Jacqueline Bishop

Jacques Roumain

James Berry

James Christopher Aboud

James Ferguson

Jan Carew

Jan Shinebourne

Jane Bryce

Jane King

Janet Jagan

Jean `Binta' Breeze

Jean Brierre

Jean Goulbourne

Jean Rhys

Jeanette Miller

Jennifer Rahim

Jesus Cos Causse

Jesús J. Barquet

Jit Narain

Joanne Hyppolite

Joel Benjamin

John Agard

John Figueroa

John Hearne

John La Rose

John Lyons

John Robert Lee

John Stewart

John Wickham

Jos Knight

José Alcántara Almánzar

Jose Marmol

Joseph Polius

Juan Bosch

Juanita Ramos

Judaman Seecoomar

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Julia Alvarez

Julia De Burgos

June Henfrey

Junot Diaz

Kamau Brathwaite

Karen King-Aribisala

Kei Miller

Kendel Hippolyte

Kevin Baldeosingh

Kevin Everod Quashie

Kevyn Arthur

Kim Robinson-Walcott

Kwame Dawes

Lakshmi Persaud

Lakshmi Persaud

Lasana M. Sekou

Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes

Lawrence Scott

Lawson Williams

Laxmi Kallicharan

Lelawatee Manoo-Rahming

Lennox Honychurch

Leon Laleau

Leonardo Padura Fuentes

Leone Ross

Leon-Gontran Damas

Lillian Allen

Linton Kwesi Johnson

Lionel Seepaul

Lloyd Brown

Lloyd Searwar

Lorna Goodison

Louis Simpson

Louise Bennett

Lourdes Casal

Luis Pales Matos

Lydia Cabrera

Lynne Macedo

Lynton Kwesi Johnson

M.G. Smith

Mabel Rodríguez Cuesta

Maggie Harris

Mahadai Das

Makeda Silvera

Malachi Smith

Malik

Marc Matthews

Marcia Douglas

Marcus Garvey

Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Margaret Gill

Maria Arrillaga

Marie-Elena John

Marie-Therese Colimon

Marilene Phipps

Marilyn Bobes

Marina Ama Omovale Maxwell

Marina Salandy-Brown

Marion Bethel

Marisella Veiga

Mark De Brito

Mark Mathews

Mark McWatt

Marlene Nourbese Philip

Marlon James

Martin Carter

Martin Espada

Marva McClean

Maryse Conde

Matthew Young

Mbala

McDonald Dixon

Meiling Jin

Mercedes Cros Sandoval

Merle Collins

Mervyn Morris

Mervyn Taylor

Michael Anthony

Michael Ekweueme Thelwell

Michael Gilkes

Michelle Cliff

Mikey Smith

Milton Williams

Mirlande Jean-Gilles

Mirta Yanez

Moses Nagamootoo

Mustapha Matura

Mutabaruka

Myriam Chancy

Myriam Warner-Vieyra

N.D. Williams

Nalo Hopkinson

Nancy Morejon

Naomi Ayala

Narmala Shewcharan

Neil Bissondath

Neville Dawes

Niala Maharaj

Nicolas Guillen

Nydia Ecury

Obediah Michael Smith

Ochy Curiel

Oku Onuora (Orlando Wong)

Olive Senior

Oonya Kempadoo

Opal Palmer Adisa

Orlando Patterson

Oscar Dathorne

Pam Mordecai

Patricia Powell

Patrick Chamoiseau

Patrick Sylvain

Paul Keens Douglas

Paule Marshall

Pauline Melville

Pedro de Jesús

Pedro Mir

Pedro Perez Sarduy

Peggy Carr

Peter Kempadoo

Philip Nanton

Philip Sherlock

Phyllis Shand Allfrey

Polly Pattullo

R. Erica Doyle

Rabindranath Maharaj

Rachel Manley

Rajandaye Ramkissoon-Chen

Ralph de Boissière

Ralph Thompson

Ramabai Espinet

Rane Arroyo

Rawle Frederick

Raymond Ramcharitar

Reina Maria Rodríguez

Reinaldo Arenas

René Depestre

Rene Philoctete

Ricardo Keens Douglas

Ricardo Pau-Llosa

Richard Blanco

Rinaldo Walcott

Rob Leyshon

Robert Antoni

Robert Edison Sandiford

Roberto Fernandez Retamar

Robin Dobru

Roger Mais

Roi Kwabena

Rooplall Monar

Rosa Cuthbert Guy

Rosamond S. King

Rosario Ferre

Roslyn Carrington

Roy Heath

Rupert Roopnaraine

Ruth Behar

Ryhaan Shah

Saint-John Perse

Sam Selvon

Sandra Castillo

Sasenarine Persaud

Seepersad Shiva Naipaul

Shake Keane

Shani Mootoo

Shara McCallum

Sharlow Mohammed

Sharon Leach

Simon Lee

Stacey Anne Chin

Stanley Greaves

Sylvia Wynter

Tato Laviera

Tessa McWatt

Thea Doelwijt

Thomas Glave

Timothy S. Chin

Tobias Buckell

Tony Hall

Trefossa

Una Marston

Vahni Capildeo

Velma Pollard

Vera Bell

Verene Shepherd

Victor Questel

Virgil Suarez

Virgilio Piñera

Vishnu Gosine

Vivian Virtue

VS Naipaul

VS Reid

Wayne Brown

Wesley E. A. Crichlow

Willi Chen

Wilson Harris

Yvonne Weekes

Zee Edgell

Zoila Ellis


Other resources:

Caribbean Literature

DMOZ: Caribbean Literature

Russ Filman’s Caribbean Literature

Caribbean Review of Books

Peepal Tree Books: Author Search

The Caribbean Writer

Caribbean Tales

The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories

The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse

Stories from Blue Latitudes: Caribbean Women Writers at Home and Abroad

Her True-True Name (Caribbean Writers Series)

Iron Balloons: Hit Fiction from Jamaica's Calabash Writer's Workshop

The Faber Book of Contemporary Caribbean Short Stories

Talk Yuh Talk

Natural Mysticism: Towards a New Reggae Aesthetic

Caribbean Review of Books

Name Your Top Ten Caribbean Novels

Our Caribbean A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles

Caribbean Dispatches: Beyond the Tourist Dream

Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook

New World Adams: Interviews with West Indian Writers





8 comments:

Nicholas Laughlin said...

A few names, off the top of my head, to add to your list of authors: Harold "Sonny" Ladoo (look out for an essay on his life and work in the CRB next year), Albert Gomes, Geoffrey Drayton, Seepersad and Shiva Naipaul, Mustapha Matura, Marlon James....

Geoffrey Philp said...

Thanks, Nicholas!
I've added them to the list. How could I have forgotten Marlon?!

This only adds to the unstated premise that this need to be a comprehensive team/institutional approach that removes the national, gender, linguistic, socio-political, and other biases from our study of the literature of this archipelago.

Peace,
Geoffrey

Stephen A. Bess said...

Congratulations brother Geoffrey! I'm happy to be apart of this progress. It will be interesting to see where we'll be two years from today. Peace~

Geoffrey Philp said...

Thanks, Stephen.
Thanks, you have been.

Blessings,
Geoffrey

Rent Party said...

Fernando Ortiz.

*Great post* and *congratulations*

Geoffrey Philp said...

Give thanks, Professor Zero.
I'm just going to let this page grow and grow and grow and....

Cogent chick said...

Dear Mr G
Love your blogs, its great that our Caribbean artiste are being celebrated...

Geoffrey Philp said...

Dear Cogent Chick,
Welcome!

I look forward to more comments.

Bless,
Geoffrey