“My locs are just shy of five years. They flow, like water. They are fluffy and black. They are dark. I forbid anyone to touch them.” I’ve rarely read stories that celebrate dread locs in the opening sentences, so this grabbed me immediately. I myself have had my dreads (as I grew up calling them…
Tag: featured
In Conversation with Nana-Ama Danquah
I don’t normally read the introduction of books, but on a whim I did so for the short story collection Accra Noir. Edited and curated by Nana-Ama Danquah, her lyrical descriptions of modern and historical Accra drew me into her perspective of her home and left me feeling taunt with anticipation for the stories to…
In Conversation with Jasmine Sealy
The first thing that intrigued me about Bajan author Jasmine Sealy’s debut novel was that her main characters had Greek names: Cronus, Iapetus, Atlas, Pleione, Calypso, Nautilus. Admittedly, I struggled to imagine how the names could represent a Caribbean narrative, but that was the exact reason I wanted to read The Island of Forgetting. I…
In Conversation with Jendella Benson
There’s a new wave of African British writers that has been pulling me toward their stories of the African diaspora, similar to the Caribbean diaspora stories that have been published for decades. Debut author Jendella Benson is no stranger to the public eye: she’s been writing, filming, photographing, and speaking during her career and her…
Book Accessibility in Africa: A Conversation with Bookstagrammers
Something that has been striking to me ever since I joined bookstagram and hearing from others who live in other parts of the world, is how difficult is to access books in Africa and the Caribbean. I wanted to have a conversation specifically with these two bookstagrammers, Amyn Bawa from Nigeria and Faith Nzama from…
100 Caribbean Books That Made Me
In 2020 the Bocas Caribbean Literary Festival polled readers to suggest Caribbean books they grew up reading and loved, and published its 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us listing. In June 2022 for Caribbean American Heritage month and Read Caribbean month on Instagram, I decided to spend the month listing the 100 Caribbean books that…
In Conversation with Xochitl Gonzalez
Puerto Rico’s relationship with America is one that has been contentious for many decades. It is deeply rooted in political corruption, colonization, economic exploitation, neglected representation from political leaders, and restricted agency to chart their own future as a country. Subsequently, the Puerto Rican experience in American is heavily influenced by these factors. Olga Dies…
In Conversation with Marsha Massiah-Aaron
As a continuation of my special series for Caribbean American Heritage month and Read Caribbean month, I’m pleased to highlight this powerful ally of Caribbean literature: the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF), a committed supporter of Caribbean books and storytelling led by its founder Marsha Massiah-Aaron. Marsha and her team are small and mighty: they…
In Conversation with Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Afro-Puerto Rican novelist Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa captured me with her second novel A Woman of Endurance, when it was published in April 2022. It led me to back to her first novel, Daughters of the Stone, first published in 2009 and all I can say is both books are important additions to contemporary literature. These are…
In Conversation with Raxenne Maniquiz
You may not know her name, but you should! When I first saw the U.S. cover for the book When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, I immediately wanted to know who designed it. Her name is Raxenne Maniquiz and she’s the talented young woman behind the image that powerfully captures the aura of…
Here We Read For Fun 