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
Achy Obejas
Afua Cooper
Aida Cartagena Portalatin
AJ Seymour
Albert Gomes
Albert Helman
Aldo Alvarez
Alejo Carpentier
Alfred Mendes
Amryl Johnson
Ana Lydia Vega
Andre Alexis
Andrea Levy
Andy Taitt
Annalee Davis
Anton Nimblett
Antonio Benitez Rojo
Arnold Harrichand Itwaru
Assotto Saint
Astrid Roemer
Audre Lorde
Austin Clarke
Barbara Ferland
Basil McFarlane
Belkis Cuza Male
Bruce St. John
Cecil Gray
Celia Alvarez
Chiqui Vicioso
Claire Harris
Claudia Rankine
Clyde Hosein
Colin Robinson
Cynthia James
Danielle Legros Georges
Denis Williams
Denise deCaires Narain
Dennis Craig
Dionne Brand
E. Mc.G. `Shake' Keane
E.M. Roach
Edgar Cairo
Edgardo Sanabria Santaliz
Edouard Glissant
Edward Baugh
Edward Lucie-Smith
Elaine “Jamaica Kincaid” Potter
Elisa Albo
Elizabeth Nunez
Eric Walrond
Erna Brodber
Eunice Heath Tate
Faizal Deen
Frank Hercules
Frank Martinus Arion
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Garth St. Omer
Geoffrey Drayton
George Campbell
Gloria Wekker
Grace Nichols
Guillermo Cabrera Infante
Gustavo Perez-Firmat
Guy Tirolien
H. Nigel Thomas
H.A. Vaughan
H.D. Carberry
Harold "Sonny" Ladoo
Harold M. Telemaque
Hazel Simmons-Mcdonald
Heberto Padilla
Helen Klonaris
Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool
Honor Ford Smith
Howard Pitterson
Hubert Harrison
Ian Bethell Bennett
Ian Craig
Jacques Roumain
James Berry
James Ferguson
Jan Carew
Jane Bryce
Jane King
Jean `Binta' Breeze
Jean Brierre
Jean Rhys
Jeanette Miller
Jesus Cos Causse
Jesús J. Barquet
Jit Narain
John Agard
John La Rose
John Lyons
John Robert Lee
John Stewart
John Wickham
José Alcántara Almánzar
Jose Marmol
Joseph Polius
Juan Bosch
Juanita Ramos
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Julia Alvarez
Julia De Burgos
Kevin Everod Quashie
Kim Robinson-Walcott
Lakshmi Persaud
Lasana M. Sekou
Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes
Lawson Williams
Lennox Honychurch
Leon Laleau
Leonardo Padura Fuentes
Leone Ross
Leon-Gontran Damas
Lillian Allen
Lionel Seepaul
Louis Simpson
Lourdes Casal
Luis Pales Matos
Lydia Cabrera
M.G. Smith
Mabel Rodríguez Cuesta
Maggie Harris
Makeda Silvera
Malik
Marcia Douglas
Margaret Cezair-Thompson
Margaret Gill
Maria Arrillaga
Marie-Therese Colimon
Marilene Phipps
Marilyn Bobes
Marina Salandy-Brown
Mark Mathews
Marlene Nourbese Philip
Martin Espada
Mbala
McDonald Dixon
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
Michael Anthony
Michael Ekweueme Thelwell
Michelle Cliff
Mirlande Jean-Gilles
Mirta Yanez
Mustapha Matura
Myriam Warner-Vieyra
Nancy Morejon
Naomi Ayala
Neil Bissondath
Niala Maharaj
Nydia Ecury
Ochy Curiel
Oku Onuora (Orlando Wong)
Oonya Kempadoo
Patricia Powell
Patrick Chamoiseau
Patrick Sylvain
Paul Keens Douglas
Paule Marshall
Pauline Melville
Pedro de Jesús
Pedro Mir
Pedro Perez Sarduy
Peggy Carr
Philip Nanton
Philip Sherlock
Phyllis Shand Allfrey
Polly Pattullo
R. Erica Doyle
Rajandaye Ramkissoon-Chen
Rane Arroyo
Rawle Frederick
Reina Maria Rodríguez
Reinaldo Arenas
Rene Philoctete
Ricardo Keens Douglas
Richard Blanco
Rinaldo Walcott
Rob Leyshon
Robert Edison Sandiford
Roberto Fernandez Retamar
Robin Dobru
Roi Kwabena
Rosamond S. King
Rosario Ferre
Roslyn Carrington
Roy Heath
Ruth Behar
Saint-John Perse
Seepersad Shiva Naipaul
Shake Keane
Shani Mootoo
Sharon Leach
Simon Lee
Stacey Anne Chin
Sylvia Wynter
Tato Laviera
Tessa McWatt
Thea Doelwijt
Timothy S. Chin
Tony Hall
Trefossa
Una Marston
Vahni Capildeo
Vera Bell
Victor Questel
Virgilio Piñera
Vivian Virtue
VS Reid
Wayne Brown
Wesley E. A. Crichlow
Zoila Ellis
Other resources:
Russ Filman’s Caribbean Literature
Peepal Tree Books: Author Search
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
Natural Mysticism: Towards a New Reggae Aesthetic
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
Caribbean authors
Caribbean writers
Caribbean
8 comments:
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....
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
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~
Thanks, Stephen.
Thanks, you have been.
Blessings,
Geoffrey
Fernando Ortiz.
*Great post* and *congratulations*
Give thanks, Professor Zero.
I'm just going to let this page grow and grow and grow and....
Dear Mr G
Love your blogs, its great that our Caribbean artiste are being celebrated...
Dear Cogent Chick,
Welcome!
I look forward to more comments.
Bless,
Geoffrey
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