Bocas in Miami!

The body of water Miami faces is the Atlantic Ocean, but — 180 miles from Nassau, 220 miles from Havana — there’s no doubt it’s also a Caribbean city. And for a few days in mid-October, Miami will also be a major hub for Caribbean literary scholarship, as the University of Miami hosts the 31st annual West Indian Literature Conference, with the theme “Imagined Nations, 50 Years Later: Reflections on Independence and Federation in the Caribbean.”

And the NGC Bocas Lit Fest will be part of the mix! We’ll be hosting a reading by five remarkable writers of different generations, as part of the closing night events of the WILC — and everyone is invited. The details:

Nations and Imaginations: An Evening with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest in Miami

Featuring 2012 OCM Bocas Prize winner Earl Lovelace, 2013 OCM Bocas Prize chair Olive Senior, Edwidge Danticat, Edward Baugh, and Lisa Allen-Agostini.

Saturday 13 October, 8 pm

Books and Books, 

265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables

The event is free and open to the public. Bocas fans in Miami, hope to see you there!

***

Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

*** 

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

WANTED: Poems for the new St. Martin collection of Poetry, “Where I See the Sun”

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT, St. Martin (July 8, 2012)—“All poets and spoken word artists of St. Martin – South, North, and those studying or living abroad” are invited “to submit up to five poems” for a new poetry book, said House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).


“Where I See The Sun – Poetry in Contemporary St. Martin” is the working name for the upcoming anthology. A wide range of subjects and writings styles are encouraged, said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP.


HNP easily issued the “Call for Poetry” online last week but the guidelines could make getting your poems in the new book a bit tough.


Nevertheless, it is an exciting proposition from a press that has published literary giants like Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados) and Amiri Baraka (USA), a Harvard scholar like Marion Bethel (The Bahamas), and a lifetime collection of poems by the late Charles Borromeo Hodge, hedging his work from obscurity on his own island.


The FULL GUIDELINES for getting poems in the new book are found at http://www.facebook.com/nehesipublishers. The guidelines can also be requested at houseofnehesipublish@gmail.com, or visit the Philipsburg Jubilee library and the Public Library in Marigot to see the guidelines on the bulletin board.


“If done right this publication can be used in schools throughout the region and in colleges. A strong collection is needed; a kind of a one-stop introduction to St. Martin poetry,” Drisana Debbie Jack, one of the nation’s leading author/artist.


Over the last four years, poetry readings at Axum Café, Top Carrot, and the park of the Hotel de la Collectivité suggest an emerging generation of poets and writers of poems eager and willing to get their work out to the general public.


The recital of unpublished poets Rochelle Ward and Mariela Xue at the 10^th anniversary of the St. Martin Book Fair in June, tell us that some fine writing is in the making, said Sample. The last anthology of St. Martin poetry was Winds Above the Hills, compiled by Wycliffe Smith and published in 1982 for SMAFESTAC.


Thirty years since that groundbreaking festival – in which the Ponum was revived! – there have been about 16 single-author collections published. But there has not been a single poetry anthology, even after both parts of the Friendly Island attained an adjusted autonomous political status.


“It would be great to have some new voices. We must make room for the cubs,” said Jack in response to last week’s “Call for Poetry.” Both of her books published by HNP have been used in US universities.


A rigorous selection process by a confidential editorial board is planned for “Where I See The Sun.” The writers submitting their work “just have to meet the measure,” said Jack. Her first title, The Rainy Season (1997), was one of the most read HNP poetry books in 2009, according Philipsburg Jubilee Library statistics.


Jack thinks that the title for the new St. Martin poetry book is an “inspired” one. Hopefully the idea and challenge of the anthology will inspire poets and aspiring poets to take a chance at getting published in it, whether they’ve been published before or not, are senior wordsmiths or young upstarts, write regularly or now-and-then, or express themselves through traditional meter, free verse, or spoken word rap.


In his book Salted Tongues (2003), the writer and critic Fabian Badejo has already advised, in a somewhat priestly tone, “Publish and be Blessed!”

New Issue: sx salon (May 2012)

The May issue of sx salon is now available, featuring new poetry, an excerpt from Diana McCaulay’s new novel, interviews with Earl Lovelace and Sandra Pouchet Paquet, reviews and a discussion on “Elizabeth Nunez’s Anna Novels” with pieces from Stephen Narain, Donette Francis and Elizabeth Nunez.

sx salon 9 (May 2012)
Introduction and Table of Contents

Reviews
Pao, by Kerry Young—Tzarina T. Prater
Caribbean Literature and the Public Sphere, by Raphael Dalleo—Faith Smith
Haiti: The Aftershocks of History, by Laurent Dubois—Jeremy M. Glick
The Afro-Latin@ Reader, edited by Miriam Jiménez Román and Juan Flores—Yvette Fuentes

Discussion—Elizabeth Nunez’s Anna Novels
The Resolution Will Not Be Theorized—Stephen Narain
The Boundaries of a Space In Between—Donette Francis
The Two Anna Novels: A Response—Elizabeth Nunez

Poetry
Arturo Desimone
Summer Edward
Erika Jeffers

Prose
Zachary’s Arrival, Part II—Diana McCaulay

Interviews
“This Is How I Know Myself”: A Conversation with Sandra Pouchet Paquet—Sheryl Gifford
An Interview with Earl Lovelace: Reflections on the 1970 Trinidad and Tobago Black Power Movement in Earl Lovelace’s Is Just a Movie—Sophie Megan Harris

***

Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.





***

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

New Caribbean Literary Prizes

© George Lamming/For use only with OES article. Saltwater Collection

George Lamming awarded in Cuba; Derek Walcott wins in Trinidad;

Earl Lovelace leads in Guadeloupe

GREAT BAY, St. Martin (May 9, 2011)—In less than one month in 2011, it appears that an unprecedented number of literary prizes were awarded to major Caribbean writers in their own region.

On May 6, the distinguished author George Lamming was awarded the Caribbean Hibiscus Prize in Cuba, said his HNP publisher here on Monday, May 9.

The Association of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) awarded Lamming the prize, which “acknowledges the lifetime’s work of Caribbean writers, artists and groups,” said HNP publisher Lasana M. Sekou.

The Barbadian writer “expressed his appreciation for the honors received in Cuba, because the concept of culture on the island is not decorative like in most countries of the region, since Cubans believe that culture is a weapon to defend the Revolution,” reported ACN news service.

In addition to its regional significance, UNEAC president Miguel Barnet said the prize aims at spreading more awareness about Cuban culture and the institution’s work. 

During the award ceremony, Cuban poet Nancy Morejon pointed out that the Hibiscus Prize is named after a flower common to Caribbean nations, and that “Lamming was selected to receive this first edition of the prize because when you read his works you can understand Nature and the regional spirit better,” reported RCA radio (FM 105.3). Culture Minister Abel Prieto attended the ceremony, held at the UNEAC.

Long hailed as one of the “adamic fathers” of Caribbean Literature, Lamming’s newest book of essays, Sovereignty of the Imagination, was published in St. Martin by HNP, said Sekou. Sovereignty and Lamming’s Western Education & The Caribbean Intellectual, also from HNP, are available at Van Dorp and other bookstores and libraries in the region, www.amazon.com and other online stores.

On April 29, it was the Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott who was honored. The acclaimed St. Lucian author, whose mother’s family hails from St. Martin, received the first edition of the OCM Bocas Prize in Trinidad for White Egrets, his latest poetry collection. The volume has already won the prestigious TS Eliot Prize.

The Bocas Prize to Walcott included an award of US$10,000. Tiphanie Yanique won the Bocas Fiction category for her debut novel, How To Escape From a Leper Colony. The much-celebrated Edwidge Danticat won the Non-Fiction category.

In a year with what appears to be an unprecedented appearance of literary prizes with regional projection, Guadeloupe took center stage from April 6 - 9, with its 2^nd International Congress of Caribbean Writers.

The first edition of the congress’s Grand Prize of Caribbean Literature went to the Trinidadian Earl Lovelace for his new novel, Is Just a Movie. The prize included a financial award of Euros 10,000, probably the highest monetary prize for literature in the region to date.

The oldest and most prestigious award for literature in the region remains the Casa de Las Americas prize. 

Caption1: In this rare photo two legendary Caribbean authors (L-R) George Lamming and Derek Walcott. (© George Lamming/For use only with OES article. Saltwater Collection)

Contact

Lasana M. Sekou

nehesi@sintmaarten.net

P.O. Box 460

Philipsburg, St. Martin

Caribbean

Tel (599) 554-7089

E-mail: Offshoreediting@hotmail.com

***

Related articles

• Barbadian Writer George Lamming Awarded Caribbean Hibiscus Prize (repeatingislands.com)
• Derek Walcott wins OCM Bocas Prize (repeatingislands.com)
• Derek Walcott Wins OCM Bocas Prize (caribbeanbookblog.wordpress.com)
• 2011 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature Finalists (repeatingislands.com)
• VIDEO: Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott on his life and work (kalamu.posterous.com)
• The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature: Shortlist (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• OCM Bocas Prize shortlist Announced (caribbeanbookblog.wordpress.com)
• 2011 OCM Bocas Prize for the best in Caribbean literature: The shortlist (signifyinguyana.typepad.com)
• Derek Walcott Wins 2011 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• Upcoming Posts (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• Ten Caribbean authors in the running for OCM Bocas Prize (caribbeanbookblog.wordpress.com)

New Book: Redemption Rain by Jennifer Rahim

Redemption Rain invites the reader into its profound epiphanies through patient revisitation and introspection. Rahim’s voice weaves the explosive power of her lively Trinidadian Creole with the searching intensity of one given to appreciating memory’s redemptive light. A book about the necessary and the unexpected, about costly arrival in the sacred spaces of realization and recognition.

Praise for Redemption Rain

Jennifer Rahim is a poet whose work allows us to feel the vastness and reach of the Caribbean... Her authority is rooted in her attentiveness, and her good mannerly humour emphasizes the unflinching honesty with which she engages the toughness and vulnerability of the world. — Earl Lovelace, author of Is Just a Movie. Here ... is a poetry that speaks directly to our sense of human belonging, our recognition of smallness within vastness, our experiential encounters with love and loss. — S Rose-Ann Walker, The University of Trinidad and Tobago 

Jennifer Rahim is a critic, poet, and short-story writer. Her creative publications include three volumes of poetry, Mothers Are Not the Only Linguists (1992), Between the Fence and the Forest (2002) and Approaching Sabbaths (2009), and a collection of short stories, Songster and Other Stories (2007). Approaching Sabbaths was awarded the 2010 Casa de las Américas Prize for best book in the category Caribbean Literature in English or Creole. She is also a co-editor of two collections of essays, Beyond Borders: Cross Culturalism and the Caribbean Canon (UWI Press 2009) and Created in the West Indies: Caribbean Perspectives on VS Naipaul (Ian Randle, 2010). She is a senior lecturer in literature at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Redemption Rain will be available

April 30, 2011

Pre-order from bookstores or the TSAR website

www.tsarbooks.com

Caribbean Writers @ Miami Book Fair International

The 27th edition of the nation’s finest and largest literary gathering, Miami Book Fair International, presented by the Florida Center for the Literary Arts (FCLA) at Miami Dade College (MDC), will take place November 14 - 21, 2010, at the college’s Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami.

Scheduled Caribbean Programs

Saturday, November 20 at 10am in Room 3314
Panelists: Michele Voltaire Marcelin, Ruth-Miriam Garnett, Diana McCaulay and Mervyn Taylor

Saturday, November 20 at 11:30am in Room 3314
Panelists: Gideon Hanoomansingh, Merle Hodge, Earl Lovelace, Selwyn Cudjoe
1970: Black Power Revolution, 1990 Coup d’état (Trinidad), Grenada occupation 1983

Saturday, November 20 @ 3:30 pm. Room 3315 (Building 3, 3rd Floor)
Presenting will be Heather Russell & Donna Weir Soley

Sunday, November 21 at 2pm in Room 7106. 
To present Earl Lovelace: Is’ Just a Movie, Norberto Fuentes and Mark Kurlansky.

Sunday, November 21 @ 1:00 pm. Room 3410 (Building 3, 4th Floor)
Geoffrey Philp reads from DUB WISE.

***