Cedella Marley
Caribbean Authors to
Share Their Literary Works at Miami Dade College’s 28th Miami Book Fair
International
Cedella
Marley, the oldest child of late reggae artist Bob Marley, is the author of One
Love. She will discuss her work at 11:30 a.m. on Thurs., Nov. 17 in
the Batten, Rm. 2106 and at 4:30 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 20. on the Once Upon a Time
Stage.
Miami, November 3, 2011 - Avid fans of some of the literary world’s finest authors
are ready for up-close-and- personal discussions and book signings with some of
their favorite Caribbean authors as time draws near for the official kick-off
of the28th edition
of the Miami Book Fair International (MBFI), presented by Miami Dade College’s (MDC) The Center
@ MDC, on
Sunday, Nov. 13.
The
authors representing the Caribbean diaspora have covered the fiction and
poetry, post-colonial themes, and non-fiction genres on topics such as family
turmoil, personal memoirs, political and social warfare, poverty, and more.
They represent countries such as Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, and
Trinidad & Tobago. During the Fair, the authors will participate in book signings,
readings, and one-on-one discussions.
Here’s a list of this year’s featured
authors with ties to the Caribbean, as well as those whose work highlight
island culture and interests. All will appear at an autographing and special
panel session on Saturday,
Nov. 19 in
Building 3, second floor of the MDC Wolfson Campus:
PANEL: Caribbean Voices in Fiction & Poetry, 2 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 19
Angela Barry (Bermuda): Born in Bermuda where she currently lives, Barry has
contributed to The
Bermudian magazine, BIM Arts for the 21st Century, The Caribbean Writer and The
Massachusetts Review, and has been translated into Spanish and
published in the magazine, Anales
Del Caribe. Among her awards is the James Michener Creative Writing
Fellowship. Her first anthology, Endangered
Species and Other Stories, was published in 2002, and her first
novel, Gorée:
Point of Departure, in 2010.
Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming (Trinidad
& Tobago): A
poet, fiction writer and essayist, Manoo-Rahming’s first book of poetry, Curry Flavour, was published in 2000 by
Peepal Tree Press, Leeds, England. Her second book of poetry, Immortelle and Bhandaaraa Poems, which
includes some of her artwork, was published in 2011 by Proverse Hong Kong. She
has won the David Hough Literary Prize from The Caribbean
Writer; the Canute A. Brodhurst Prize for Short Fiction from The Caribbean Writer; and the
Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) 2001 Short Story Competition.
Shara McCallum (Jamaica): McCallum is the author of four books of poetry: The Face of Water: New and Selected Poems, This Strange Land,Song of
Thieves, and The Water
Between Us. Her poems
have appeared in journals, anthologies, and textbooks in the US, UK, Caribbean,
Latin America, and Israel and been translated into Spanish and Romanian.
Eunice Heath-Tate (Jamaica): Heath-Tate is a Jamaican-born poet, novelist and freelance
writer. Her works include When God
Wasn't Looking(her latest novel), Background
Noises, and Scraping
My Heart. She is a recipient of The Lyric Award for achievements
and contributions to the cultural heritage of the African Diaspora in the New
World.
PANEL: Caribbean Voices: Generations in Art and Literature, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19
Opal Adisa (Jamaica): Adisa is an award-winning poet, prose writer and
inspirational speaker. Her twelve titles include the novel, It Begins With Tears; Caribbean Erotica, co-edited with Donna
Weir-Soley; and her new novel, Painting
Away Regrets (Peepal
Tree Press, $26.95).
Le Roy Clarke (Trinidad & Tobago): Clarke is an artist, poet, lecturer and philosopher. He’s
acclaimed as one of the region's leading artists who have contributed many
essays on issues of national importance. His books include, Taste of Endless Fruit; Douens; Eyeing De Word – Love Poems for Ettylene; De Distance is Here; The El Tucuche Poems 1984-2007; Secret Insect of a Bird Deep in Me Wanting to Fly;
and Voice of a Smouldering Coal.
Ramabai Espinet (Trinidad &
Tobago): Espinet
is a poet, a writer of fiction and essays, and a critic. Her published works
include the poetry collection, Nuclear
Seasons, the books for children, The
Princess of Spadina and Ninja's Carnival, and her first novel, The Swinging Bridge, a portrait of the
immigrant experience.
Gordon Rohlehr (Guyana): Rohlehr is a retired professor of West Indian Literature at
the University of the West Indies and a pioneer in the reinterpretation of
Caribbean culture. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Caribbean
culture and literary history, including:Transgression, Transition, Transformation: Essays
in Caribbean Culture; A
Scuffling of Islands: Essays on Calypso; Ancestories: Readings of Kamau Brathwaite’s
Ancestors.
Donna Aza Weir-Soley (Jamaica): Weir-Soley is an associate professor of English,
African & African Diaspora Studies and Women's Studies at Florida
International University. A recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement
Fellowship, she is the author of First
Rain; Eroticism, Spirituality and Resistance In Black Women's Writings;
and co-editor of the new anthology, Caribbean
Erotic, which boasts 62 writers from the English-speaking,
French-speaking, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
PANEL: Caribbean Voices: Post-Colonial Themes, 12:30 p.m.,
Saturday, Nov. 19
Brenda Flanagan (Moderator) (Trinidad
& Tobago): Flanagan's
story collection, In Praise
of Island Women: & Other Crimes (Peepal Press, $15.95), celebrates
women's capacity to endure life’s hardships with resilience, stoicism, and
humor. She teaches creative writing and Caribbean and African American
Literature at Davidson College, North Carolina, and is also the author of You Alone Are Dancing and Allah in
the Islands.
Andrew Downes (Barbados):Labour Markets in Small Developing States (Commonwealth Secretariat, $38.95), edited by Downes,
explores the approaches to labor development by governments of smaller states
across the world and considers the effectiveness of those strategies.
Brian Meeks (Jamaica): Meeks is professor of social and political change, director
of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies and director
of the Centre for Caribbean Thought in the Department of Government at the
University of the West Indies. He has published seven books and edited
collections, including Envisioning
Caribbean Futures: Jamaican Perspectives; The Thought of New World: The Quest for
Decolonisation (ed.
with Norman Girvan); and his first novel, Paint the
Town Red.
Selwyn Ryan (Trinidad & Tobago): Ryan has been a member of two Constitutional Commissions
established by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Chairman of the Public
Utilities Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Caribbean Press Council and
President of Caribbean Studies Association. He has also been the University
Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the
West Indies, as well as the Director of the St. Augustine Branch of the
Institute.
Verene A. Shepherd (Jamaica): Shepherd has published widely on Jamaican economic history,
and sits on the Advisory/Editorial Board of several local and international
journals including the Arts
Journal, Caribbean
Quarterly, Jamaica
Journal, Slavery
and Abolition. She is a fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth
Society, is University Director and Regional Coordinator of the Institute for
Gender & Development Studies and Professor of Social History at the Mona
Campus of the University of the West Indies.
Other prominent Caribbean authors
scheduled to make an appearance at the Fair include MDC faculty member Geoffrey Philp, whose new
children’s book, Marcus
and the Amazons: A Story of Resistance (Mabrack Press) combines the values of
Marcus Garvey and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into the story of a courageous
ant that saves his colony from an evil tyrant. Philp also contributed an
afterword to I'm the
One With the Blue Cap On (Rock
Press, $15.00) a posthumous collection of Jeffrey Knapp's poems, edited by John
Dufresne, with a Forward by Michael Hettich. Culled from typed manuscript pages
going back to the sixties, the poems span the length of his career, showing the
early influence of the Beats and his fondness for the visual arts and pop
culture. Throughout the range of his poems, Knapps's voice reveals itself as
consistently strong, energetic and uniquely his own. Philp is an award winning
Jamaican poet and fiction writer.
Also appearing during the Fair, Cedella Marley, the oldest child of
late reggae artist Bob Marley, and author of One Love (Chronicle Books, $16.99), which was
adapted from one of her father’s most beloved songs. It is a story that brings
the joyful spirit and unforgettable lyrics of his music to life for a new
generation. In addition to her literary career, Cedella performs
internationally with the three-time Grammy Award-winning Melody Makers. She is
also the author of a number of books about her father, including 56 Thoughts from 56 Hope Road and Bob
Marley: My Son.
Lastly, Marlon James’ novel, The Book of Night Women (Riverhead, $26.95), explores the
ferociously cruel and dehumanizing practice of slavery in Jamaica. The book is
narrated in a lilting Jamaican patois that at once underscores and eerily
conflicts with the disturbing images of violence and degradation that James
conjures. "Night Women will
keep readers up at night," says Bookmarks magazine.
Important facts about the 28th edition of the Miami Book Fair International:
Unless otherwise noted: All Evening With presentations will be held in the
Chapman Conference Center (Bldg. 3, second floor) at the Wolfson Campus, 300
N.E. Second Ave. Tickets for each session are $10 and must be purchased in
advance. To
purchase tickets, visitwww.miamibookfair.com.
Kick-off festivities will begin at 5 p.m. with the Miami Book Fair International
Inaugural Ceremony in
the Wolfson Campus Auditorium (Building 1, second floor). Immediately following
the ceremony, the Chinese Pavilion will officially open its doors and host an
opening reception. Both events are free and open to the public.
The Fair will take place November 13 - 20, 2011, at the college’s Wolfson Campus in
downtown Miami. Free parking is available in the Building 7 garage (500 N.E. Second
Ave). The popular Street
Fair runs Friday, November 18 through Sunday, November 20,
featuring more than 200 exhibitors from around the country. This year, the Fair
will celebrate the literature and culture of China.
Plus, Twilight
Tastings every weeknight –
delicious morsels and drinks courtesy of popular Miami restaurants – and a
wealth of activities, from folk dancing to calligraphy demos and more, at the
Chinese Pavilion.
For updates on Miami Book Fair
International, please visit www.miamibookfair.com,
call 305-237-3528, or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.
ABOUT MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL AND
THE CENTER
Miami
Book Fair International is the largest and finest literary gathering in
America. It is the premier event of The Center for Literature and Theatre @
Miami Dade College. The Center promotes reading and writing throughout the year
by consistently presenting quality literary activities open to all in South
Florida. Literacy projects target children of all ages — from kindergarten to
high school — as well as college students and adults. Additionally, established
and emerging writers from all over the U.S. read, lecture, and teach workshops.
The Center is also the home of the Prometeo Theater, a Spanish-language
conservatory style program that presents full productions and dramatic
readings; in addition to offering a professional training program in theatre
arts, continuing education acting classes for adults as well as Prometeitos,
dancing and acting program for children. The Center envisions South Florida as
a nexus of literary activity in the Americas and beyond, and will continue to
champion its mission of promoting the advancement and appreciation of literature
in all forms.
Miami
Book Fair International is made possible through the generous support of the
State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the
Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Recovery Act;
Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs
Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; The
Children’s Trust, Peacock Foundation, Inc., Publix Super Markets Charities,
Miami Dade County Public Schools; the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors
Bureau; the Miami Downtown Development Authority, the Green Family Foundation,
the Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Family Foundation, Inc., the Kenneth A.
Lattman Foundation, and the Friends of the Fair.
The
Book Fair’s corporate sponsors as of this date include: Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Florida, American Airlines, Bank of America, Miami Parking Authority,
Miami Dade Transit, Mystery Writers of America, Southeastern Recycling, Cafeina
Wynwood Lounge, City Hall the Restaurant, Graspa Group, Hyatt Regency Miami,
Barefoot Wine, Florida Power & Light, First and First Southern Baking
Company, Scholastic Books, South Motors, Jackson Health System, Kork Wine &
Cheese, Tri-Rail, Costco Wholesale, and the Doral Chamber of Commerce. The 2011
media sponsors include: The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, Comcast,
CBS4 and TV33, Univision23 and Telefutura69, BookTV on C-SPAN2, Univision
Radio, WLRN Public Radio & Television, WPBT Channel 2, WDNA 88.9 FM Public
Radio, Classical South Florida 89.7, WIOD Newsradio 610 AM, WEDR 99JAMZ, Diario
Las Americas, Caribbean Today, Miami New Times, South Florida Times, The Miami
Times, Bookreporter.com, FUEL Outdoors, and the Welcome Channel.
ABOUT MIAMI DADE COLLEGE
Miami
Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts,
providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings
including the Miami Book Fair International, the Center @ MDC, the Miami
International Film Festival, the MDC Live! Performing Arts Series, the Cuban
Cinema Series, the Miami Leadership Roundtable speakers’ series, numerous
renowned campus art galleries and theaters, and the nationally recognized
School of Entertainment and Design Technology. With an enrollment of more than
174,000 students, MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the
country and is a national model for many of its programs. The college’s eight
campuses and outreach centers offer more than 300 distinct degree programs
including baccalaureate, associate in arts and science degrees and numerous
career training certificates leading to in-demand jobs. MDC has served nearly
2,000,000 students since it opened its doors in 1960.
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