Liviticus Poetry, Drama. Caribbean Studies. Typeset “performance” in Brathwaite’s trademark Sycorax Video Style. LIVITICUS is “a monument to sorrow that cherishes our origins . as we live our lives of Modern distraction,” according the Pulitzer-nominated writer Gar…
is “a monument to sorrow that cherishes our origins . as we live our lives of Modern distraction.”
– Garrett Hongo, Pulitzer-nominated writer, poet
Even as Brathwaite writes eloquently and heartbreakingly about “Cultural Lynching,” there remains, however, the poet’s steadfast desire to connect to the pasts, presents, and futures of a seemingly indifferent world.
– Kelly Baker Josephs, Editor, sx salon: a smallaxe literary platform
It’s a new book set!
Publication” of the Constitution and other laws established for governing
St. Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These national ordinances, also called organic laws, were first published in Dutch following St. Maarten’s attainment of an autonomous status within the Kingdom of
the Netherlands on October 10, 2010.
book of the dead risks a new kind of pan-Caribbean poetry.
– Richard Drayton, King’s College London
An important new work of world literature, … an ambitious book.
– Xu Xi, New York | Hong Kong
It is at the crossroads of these always questioning seas, sometimes Caribbean, sometimes Atlantic, that arise these poets. … Let us be accomplices to this bouillonnement ! Dear readers, let us, without delay, sit at this new table of words that sing.
– Max Rippon, poet, novelist, Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe
de la Foire du livre de Saint Martin – la Cérémonie de Clôture 2020 (émission en direct
sur Facebook). Dans la photo : Coordonnateur de la Foire du Livre Shujah Reiph
(Droite) ; Membres du comité de la Foire du livre (et bébé) ; le personnel de Computech,
sponsor de l’édition virtuelle du festival de littérature de l’île toute entière, qui a attiré 34
auteurs et présentateurs de l’Amérique du Sud, du Nord, de la Caraïbe de l’Afrique et de
l’Europe. (© CLF/HNP photo.)
NEW BOOK RELEASES
Where I See The Sun
Contemporary Poetry in Anguilla
Paperback, poems, literature, 184 pp.
Where I See The Sun: Contemporary Poetry in Anguilla gathers a bounteous bunch of voices, 43 poets intent on entering the choir that would intone a new song for Anguilla, carved out of its history, its politics, its heritage, its dreams and aspirations. Their names may ring hollow to many a literary critic or student of Caribbean Literature, (with the exception, perhaps, of the venerable Bankie Banks, a true musical legend who has stuck to his Anguilla roots through thick and thin), but the important thing is that they now will be heard throughout the region and beyond and the story they tell, a reminder that size really doesn’t matter when it comes to human experience and existence or for that matter where it concerns creative output.
This is pure poetry: critical, sincere and plain. The glorious and convoluted history of small island nations sits heavily on the shoulders of so few. This may be your only chance to hear them speak like this.
– Wena Poon, award-winning Singapore-born American author of Café Jause: a Story of Viennese Shanghai
The Adulterous Citizen: poems stories essays
Paperback, poems, literature, 136 pp.
Poems. Short stories. Essays. The Adulterous Citizen contemplates the feeling of belonging, while yearning for the seduction of elsewhere. Tishani Doshi guides us through the streets of Cartagena, the seaside of Madras, and the bronze cliffs of Wales; through arcane museums and into strangers’ houses; her poems, short stories and essays take us on a train ride across India into self-discovery and a teenager’s failed escape on the American Road, into a house of childhood ghosts, and on a journey of a delusional widow in the Himalayas. Travelling along are those abstract countries of memory and the imagination the author’s constant companions, and the reason why she writes at all: because she just ‘won’t shut up!’
Tishani Doshi brings to the written page the precision, poise and sensuality of an accomplished dancer, which is also what she is.
– Tabish Khair, poet and novelist
Columbus, the Moor | Colón, el Moro
Colomb, le Maure | Colombo, il Moro
(English, Spanish, French and Italian Edition)
Paperback, literature, 104 pp.
The literary works of Charles Matz are extremely complex. … What distinguishes his work is his plunging into the bottomless pit of lasting orality, the long and varied history of poetry-song-ritual.
– Andrea Zanzotto, Pieve di Soligo, Italy
Applicare a Matz etichette può essere assai pericoloso, ma credo che il suo tuffo nel pozzo senza fondo dell oralità perpetua lo caratterizzi inconfondibilmente, riportando in evidenza l originaria identità poesia-canto-rito lungo una catena da gran tempo spezzata, distrutta, e forse non ricostruibile.
– Andrea Zanzotto, Pieve di Soligo
Ce livre est la premieré publication de Colomb, le Maure, comme livret en anglais, avec des traductions en français, italien, et spagnol. Tous les quatre textes comprennent aussi divers autres languages comme le taíno (arawak) et le latin.
Esta es la primera publicación de Colón, el Moro como un único libro del texto teatral en inglés junto a texto español, francés e italiano. Todos los cuatro textos incluyen varias lenguas, como taíno (Arawak) y latín.
– House of Nehesi Publishers
Love Songs Make You Cry
by Lasana M. Sekou
Paperback, poetry, literature, 158 pp
Tales with utmost verisimilitude.
– Montague Kobbé, The Daily Herald
Love Songs Make You Cry stirs emotions that lie too deep for tears.
– Joyce Peters-McKenzie, St. Martin Newsday
While Sekou’s stories examine themes of displacement, immigration and exploitation, each one is based on human relationships.
– Rochelle Ward, bajanreporter.com
Language, Culture, and Identity in St. Martin
by Rhoda Arrindell
Language, Culture, and Identity in St. Martin is intended to contribute to the language education discourse and provide some insight into how language and culture affect and are affected by identity in St. Martin. Exploring the basic syntactical structure of the St. Martin language, it aims to stimulate further and deeper studies leading to a new awareness of the nature of the language. Furthermore, the book could serve to provide a knowledge base from which the analysis of cultural, identity, and educational issues confronting the South and North of this Caribbean island can be made and understood.
– Kamau Brathwaite, poet, critic, scholar
This wave of contemporary poetry from St. Martin … is an act of self-analysis, self-love, and self-preservation… . It says what must be said and what must be heard.
– Adrian Green, spoken word artist, Barbados
One day we could forget about these times, who we loved, what we feared, where we wanted to go, when we departed for our independent future, and that is when Where I See the Sun will reveal older secrets why and how poets are the memory keepers of the nation.
– Minerva Dormoy, Department of Culture, Collectivity of St. Martin
Paperback, Poetry, Literature, 96 pp.
Supple, integrative language, engaging scholarship, expansive allusions, sharp wit, musical vigor … make Maroon Lives resonate with other times and places. … Powerful extensive elegy that privileges revolution will not grow old.
– Keith Ellis, author, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto
by Robin Boasman
Lizzy Lizard is Robin Boasman’s darling contribution to the children’s literature of the Caribbean. What an absolute delight to get the grand tour of St. Martin with Lizzy Lizard and her new friends! – Jamie Alleyne, Learning & Child Development Consultant
Little Lizzy Lizard’s Long walk quickly turns into an adventure in and around St. Martin’s busiest city. The book’s photo art illustrations convey a sense of magic to places easily identified by boys and girls, ages 4 to 9. Meet the endearing Suzy Soldier Crab, Iggy iguana, Missy Mongoose, and Pico Pelican. Lizzy Lizard will prove popular with confident readers; and with families who can spend time reading it together.
Emilio Jorge Rodríguez
Essais / Littérature / Études culturelles / Critique Littéraire
La collection d’essais de Rodríguez est d’une importance capitale, dévoilant des échanges clés entre écrivains haïtiens et cubains, échanges dialogiques traversant des différences linguistiques et historiques pour tisser un lien essentiel de compréhension qui ouvra la porte à de nouvelles formes de créativité.
– Myriam J.A. Chancy, Ph.D., Auteur de Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women
Ce livre excellent et circonstancié qui fouille dans les rapports cachés et profonds qui sous-tendent l héritage culturel d Haïti, met à nu d importantes zones de confluence des peuples de la région.
– Margarita Mateo Palmer, Instituto Superior de Arte, La Havane
by Emilio Jorge Rodriguez
(English and Spanish Edition)
Paperback, literature, essays, culture studies/criticism
Monografías / Critica Literaria
Jorge Emilio Rodriguez has made a wise choice of the term ‘trans-Caribbean,’ it is of the same family as ‘transculturation’ and sheds light on the process of exchanges and influences that founded the Caribbean identity.
– Maximilien Laroche, author
Con una mirada atenta a las secretas conexiones rizomáticas del legado cultural de Haití, se develan, en este acucioso y excelente libro, importantes zonas de confluencia de los pueblos de la región.
– Margarita Mateo Palmer, Instituto Superior de Arte, Habana.
Nativity / Nativité / Natividad
Trilingual Edition by Lasana Sekou
Paperback, poetry, literature, 224 pp.
English • Française • Español
Nativity cover art: Adán, sculpture/bronze and Eva, sculpture/bronze by Fernando Botero. © Fernando Botero. Courtesy: Museo de Antioquia, Colombia.
In nine haunting segments … a bold narrative, … long overdue … centralizes the region’s indigenous, African, Asian connections. A triumph of Caribbean aesthetics. – Dr. Conrad M. James, University of Birmingham, UK
An exuberant, epic rush … a lusty, encyclopedic yawp. – Roberta Q. Knowles, The Caribbean Writer
Delicious, delectable, and delightful dishes. – Gloria Ferris-Bell, nutritionist The recipes of award-winning chef Yvette Hyman, “first lady of St. Martin’s national cuisine” and founder of Yvette’s Restaurant, a gastronomic institution on the Caribbean’s “best dining island” — hailed in the Newsday,The Boston Sunday Globe, The Washington Post among other media.
Explore some more
by Lydia G. Henderson
Paperback, autobiography, adult reading
A captivating look at sexual addiction, pleasure, deceit, betrayal, “demonic attacks,” and the power of God to transform life. – Dr. Judith Arndell, Clinical Psychologist, author
Words, phrases, sayings & general communication terms
by Robert Romney
With information ranging from the witty to the wise, St. Martin Talk is a handbook of words, phrases, sayings and other communication terms — including those from the St. Martin of old that are still much a part of the everyday speech of the island’s people. This quick reference will happily serve as a home, school, office and travel reference and companion.
by Laurelle “Yaya” Richards
In The Frock & Other Poems, Laurelle “Yaya” Richards, at times playful, sometimes stern, the poems do not avoid conflicts, but her strong womanist voice transcends these divisions with the gentle wisdom of her verse.
– Geoffrey Philp, author, USA
Language and the Politics of Ethnicity
by George Lamming
Paperback, political philosophy, literature ethnic studies, Caribbean history, 96 pp.
Lamming’s preoccupation with freedom is today very apropos because one feature of our contemporary world is the resurgence of a current of thought and action, which heralds the virtues of empire.
– Prof. Anthony Bogues, Political Science, Brown University
by Marion Bethel
Paperback, poetry, literature, 72 pp.
Guanahaní, my love is the metaphor for a place of more sea than land, of sugar and salt, “the Caribbean, a home”, … share the profound mystery which blankets them all.
– Yolanda Wood, Caribe Casa de las Américas
by Fabian Badejo
Paperback, biographical survey, political studies, 200 pp.
“Anybody who can last for thirty-five years in government has my unstinted admiration,” declared former US Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Kissinger, on the occasion of Dr. Claude Wathey’s 35th anniversary in elected public office in St. Martin. According to Badejo, history will not only weigh what this Caribbean political strongman “has done for the island, … nor how well he was liked or disliked” but “what he may have failed to do, too.”
by Howard A. Fergus
Paperback, comparative literature, culture studies, criticism, 104 pp.
In the clean lyric line, the rhyming line … an honest, unsentimental perception of humanity. From a freshly-wrought volcanic landscape, Fergus speaks authentically, deeply.
– Marion Bethel, author, The Bahamas
More than an untroubled declaration of faith, I Believe is in fact an option to believe, and so evokes its absent opposite against which it presses given humanity’s ‘imperfect garden.’
– Dr. Jennifer Rahim, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
– Ivette Romero-Cesareo, Marist College, New York
Paperback, poetry, literature, 112 pp.
English • Español • Française
Out of the wreckage of paradise comes this passionate rendering of the human soul, mortal and immortal, a saga of love beyond the individual and yet touching each of us … Memorable … if we are prepared to ride with the poet through hell and heaven.
– Dr. Agnes Lam, University of Hong Kong
Respira y vive aquí, con nosotros, y enseguida vuela y se coloca en el paisaje del mito. Es como ella, como Chiqui, alta y definitiva, clara y limpia como el agua de los orígenes.
– Abel Prieto, Ministro de Cultura, Cuba
Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems
by Amiri Baraka
Paperback, poetry, literature, 57 pp
4th printing by popular demand!
The publication of Amiri Baraka’s Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems makes one more mark in the development in modern Black radical & revolutionary cultural reconstruction.
– Kamau Brathwaite, Cow Pastor, Barbados; Comparative Lit., New York University
by Kamau Brathwaite
Paperback, poetry, literature, 90 pp.
Words Need Love Too is perhaps, Kamau Brathwaite’s most concentrated effort at fashioning a new literary tradition out of the fragmented pieces/rhythms/nation languages that form the New World. No other poet, living or dead, makes us participants in, and co-celebrants of the liturgy of the word, like Brathwaite.
by Shake Keane
Paperback, poetry, literature, 182 pp.
The Angel Horn… is vintage Shake Keane. … spanning a period of 40 years the best of Keane, his mastery of the folk culture, play on words, use of nation language and of musical symbols and themes, and the integration of rhymes and riddles … .