Works of Caribbean authors on display at Nalis

Cultural diversity through the literary arts from the region is on display at the National Library from August 19-30. The exhibition, Award Winning Caribbean Authors, is a collaborative effort of the National Library and Information System Authority (Nalis) and the Bocas Lit Fest for Carifesta XIV.

Crossing genres, the materials on display are the offerings of 24 award-winning Caribbean authors, some well-established and some up and coming. Their works convey their wild thoughts, raw emotions, bold visions, savoury and decadent tastes.

The authors whose works are on display come from 11 Caribbean countries. Zee Edgell from Belize, whose first novel Beka Lamb (1982) was written while she lived in Afghanistan, the United States and Bangladesh. Edgell was awarded the Canute Broadhurst Prize for her short story My Uncle Theophilus in 1999. The novel Wide Sargasso Sea, which brought Dominica’s Jean Rhys international fame, is also showcased. Learn about Grenada’s Jacob Ross, who in 2017 won the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a writer of colour and Guyana’s Imam Baksh, whose first and second books won the CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult fiction in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

Become acquainted with St Lucia’s Kendel Hippolyte, poet and playwright; TT’s own Jeanelle Frontin’s science fiction YaraStar trilogy; Alecia McKenzie of Jamaica, whose works have been translated into French; and TT’s
Kevin Adonis Browne, who won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for his book High Mas at the Bocas Lit Fest this year.

The works of these authors are just a prelude to the cultural explosion that is the literary arts portion of Carifesta XIV. Nalis and Bocas Lit Fest hope this taste of award-winning writing will serve to encourage people to expand their knowledge and appreciation of as well as supporting local and regional writers and Caribbean literature. Building on this year’s Carifesta theme which is Connect, Share and Invest, Nalis and Bocas Lit Fest invite all to Connect with the authors through the written word, Share a thoughtful comment in the guest book at the exhibition and Invest some time and effort in getting to know our Caribbean authors at the Book Fair at the Carifesta village.