New Book: Too Black to Succeed: THE FIN$AC EXPERIENCE,

In Too Black to Succeed: THE FIN$AC EXPERIENCE, Valerie C. Dixon combines her wisdom as a Garveyite and Jamaican entrepreneur to create a compelling narrative about the betrayal of Jamaican entrepreneurs by the Jamaican government during the 90s in the financial debacle known as FINSAC or the Financial Sector Adjustment Company. Blending memoir, testimonial, and historical analysis, Dixon outlines historical parallels of Jamaica in 1865 with events in the 1990s, which resulted in bankruptcy, suicide, and financial ruin of over 44,000 Jamaican entrepreneurs, and also the continuing frustration of black ambition due to discriminatory practices and colorism. By skilfully interweaving the teachings of Marcus Garvey, specifically the self-defeating/self-destructive mind-set of many Africans in the New World, which Garvey tried to overcome when he said, "We must emancipate ourselves from mental slavery," Too Black to Succeed, should serve as a cautionary tale about governmental betrayal and the limits of patriotism if it is not linked to a cohesive vision that transcends political tribalism.

About the Author

Valerie Dixon is wife, mother, teacher, counselor, mentor, entrepreneur, and writer among a myriad of other pursuits. Her background has provided her with the calling to speak for those who are unable to find their own expression. Empathetic and helpful, Mrs. Dixon has made it her life’s work to teach many to fish and even provide them with the rods, helping people in rural communities to experience financial mobility while contributing to improving their surroundings.

Endowed with strong opinions, love of justice, a keen ability to see beyond the obvious, and a brilliant sense of humor, Mrs. Dixon has written op-ed pieces for newspapers, has been a regular contributor since 2006 to “SELF-HELP NEWS–“Giving Voice to the Voiceless”, an on-line publication, whose head office is based in London, England. SELF-HELP NEWS–“Giving Voice to the Voiceless”, is an authoritative publication read widely across the world, by lay readers, academics, state and non-state actors, policy makers, international communicators, community leaders, and students, with a focus on community development and the sanctity of individual free will. This rich and diverse background experience has culminated in her latest venture, her first book, Too Black to Succeed-The FIN$AC Experience, for which, it seems, she was being prepared for all along.

New Book: The Life and Times of Joseph Hill & Culture

Joseph Hill created one of the finest Jamaican reggae vocal groups of all time – Culture – praised as such by artists as well-known as The Rolling Stones, The Clash, and Bob Marley. 

It’s unpardonable that until now no biography has appeared covering the man and a recording career terminated by his premature death in 2006. Eric Doumerc has now filled that gap with his new book published in November 2019 tackling the social forces which inspired and drove Hill’s music and analysing the records he chose to make.

About the Author

Eric Doumerc is a French academic working at the University of Toulouse. His two earlier books, both available from APS Books are Dub Poets In Their Own Words (2017) and Jamaican Music In England (2018).

Read Caribbean: Miami Book Fair 2019

ReadCaribbean programming features extensive Caribbean-specific events, including readings and panel discussions, storytelling for children, music and more, plus publishers at Street Fair. When appropriate, author events will take place in Creole or French with simultaneous translation into English.

ReadCaribbean se yon bèl pwogram ki selebre tout mèvèy pitit Karayib la reyalize nan domèn kiltirèl e literè. Li òganize deba ak konferans, lekti ak tout kalite aktivite pou timoun, fim ayisyen, dans, mizik, elatriye. Distribitè liv ap pran lari a pou yo pandan Street Fair la. Lè sa apwopriye, prezantasyon ekriven yo ap an kreyòl oswa franse, avèk entèpretasyon similtane nan lang angle.

A very special thank you to Jan Mapou, Myrtha Wroy, Jerry Delince, Cergine Cator, and Sherley Louis members, of Sosyete Koukouy who collaborate with Miami Book Fair on ReadCaribbean programs, including the Little Haiti Book Festival, that takes place annually in May. Established in 1985, Sosyete Koukouy is dedicated to preserving Haitian culture in the United States . Their mission is the preservation, perpetuation and presentation of Haitian cultural performances and exhibitions, to Creole and non-Creole-speaking audiences.

Yon kokennchenn mèsi bay Jan Mapou, Myrtha Wroy, Jerry Delince, Cergine Cator, ak Sherley Louis, ki se manm Sosyete Koukouy e kolaboratè Miami Book Fair nan kad pwogram ReadCaribbean lan, avèk paregzanp Little Haiti Book Festival, ki fèt chak ane nan mwa d me. Depi 1985, Sosyete Koukouy, Inc. ap travay pou prezève kilti ayisyèn nan Ozetazini. Misyon li se prezèvasyon ak pwomosyon kilti peyi Ayiti, e piblik li vize se non sèlman moun ki pale kreyòl, men se moun ki pa pale kreyòl tou.

For more information: https://www.miamibookfair.com/program/readcaribbean-2019/

Phonographic Memories by Njelle W. Hamilton

 

Phonographic Memories: Popular Music and the Contemporary Caribbean Novel

by Njelle W. Hamilton

About This Book

Phonographic Memories is the first book to perform a sustained analysis of the narrative and thematic influence of Caribbean popular music on the Caribbean novel. Tracing a region-wide attention to the deep connections between music and memory in the work of Lawrence Scott, Oscar Hijuelos, Colin Channer, Daniel Maximin, and Ramabai Espinet, Njelle Hamilton tunes in to each novel’s soundtrack while considering the broader listening cultures that sustain collective memory and situate Caribbean subjects in specific localities. These “musical fictions” depict Caribbean people turning to calypso, bolero, reggae, gwoka, and dub to record, retrieve, and replay personal and cultural memories. Offering a fresh perspective on musical nationalism and nostalgic memory in the era of globalization, Phonographic Memories affirms the continued importance of Caribbean music in providing contemporary novelists ethical narrative models for sounding marginalized memories and voices.

Njelle W. Hamilton's Spotify playlist to accompany Phonographic Memories: https://spoti.fi/2tCQRm8

Reviews

“Njelle Hamilton’s Phonographic Memories explores how a set of Caribbean novelists has foregrounded music as a locus for memory, nostalgia, and selfhood. Her study attests to the importance of music in the region in both personal and national senses of identity and suggests original ways of interpreting its representation in fiction.”

 ~Peter Manuel, author of Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae.

“Njelle W. Hamilton’s Phonographic Memories is a resonant and remarkable contribution to the fields of Caribbean studies and literary sound studies. Her substantive interdisciplinary work interweaves critical insights from neuropsychology, ethnomusicology, and literary studies with meticulous close-reading and close-listening analyses of musical styles, performance genres, and recording technologies in a multiplicity of Caribbean contexts. In harmony with the practice of liyannaj that Hamilton relates in her analysis, this important and impactful work will appeal to audiophiles and bibliophiles alike."

~Julie Huntington, author of Sounding Off: Rhythm, Music, and Identity in West African and Caribbean Francophone Novels.

Here's the link for Phonographic Memories @ Rutgers University Press: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/phonographic-memories/9780813596594