Reconnecting to Caribbean Folklore with ‘When We Were Birds’
Intersect Intersect

Reconnecting to Caribbean Folklore with ‘When We Were Birds’

This is one such narrative that, for me at least, had lain dormant for too long. It blends the stories from our ancestors — recollections from the enslaved, the indentured, and the colonial masters, as well as remnants of indigenous memory. From the very opening of When We Were Birds, we are reminded of this supernatural heritage that is present in our culture.

Read More
Don’t sleep on Caribbean Fantasy and Science Fiction: Caribbean Futurism (A Reflection on 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚, 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝘵𝘰𝑟𝑒, 𝑅𝑒𝘵𝑢𝑟𝑛)
Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse

Don’t sleep on Caribbean Fantasy and Science Fiction: Caribbean Futurism (A Reflection on 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚, 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝘵𝘰𝑟𝑒, 𝑅𝑒𝘵𝑢𝑟𝑛)

My current reading is not by design but it’s a good jumping off point for reflection on how spec fic, or Caribbean futurism, is in many ways the type of fiction we need when the world is at its most volatile or uncertain.   

Read More
Object Permanence
Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse

Object Permanence

On the page, as in life, people (characters) have things that mean something to them; that come to symbolize things in the greater context of the story. For me, the key is not to force it (what a character’s thing is) but to discover it over the course of revisions.

Read More
What Can Story Do?
Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse Artist-In-Residence Joanne C. Hillhouse

What Can Story Do?

I’m not a scientist nor a politician, but, climate change is real and writing is how I process life. The creative process compels me to grapple with whatever anxiety, and frankly fear, I may be feeling about our current and near future reality.

Read More
Guyana, Venezuela, and Colonialism
Intersect Intersect

Guyana, Venezuela, and Colonialism

Although the current lines dividing South America and the Caribbean were drawn by colonial powers and do not reflect the reality of the indigenous residents prior to colonisation, it is nevertheless important to recognise that the indigenous Caribbean people – in addition to the afro-Caribbean and indo-Caribbean people – living in the Essequibo region consider themselves Guyanese. This fact alone should warrant an end to the dispute.

Read More
Transnational Feminism and Gender-Based Violence
Intersect Intersect

Transnational Feminism and Gender-Based Violence

A world released from the vicious grip of gender-based violence demands building movements across borders and regions. It calls for us to agitate for Palestine’s liberation, to push for an end to the war in Sudan and assist those displaced by it, and to protest the neocolonial forces keeping the Democratic Republic of the Congo in conflict and its people exploited for resources that power our societies. It calls for us to stand with Guyana and the people of the Essequibo region – many of whom are indigenous – who are at risk of being uprooted from their homes in the face of potential annexation by Venezuela. It requires that we engage in direct action and work to elevate the Caribbean’s collective consciousness through education and the co-creation of feminist thought.

Read More
Coolieween
This Is Not Love Tifa Wine/Ryan Persadie This Is Not Love Tifa Wine/Ryan Persadie

Coolieween

The names listed here are just a mere fragment of the lists upon lists of diasporic Indo-Caribbean women who have been injured, harmed, and murdered at the hands of heteropatriarchal power – whether that be in the form of their parents, community members, or even intimate partners.

Read More
Passing Through
Growing up Queer Ethan Knowles Growing up Queer Ethan Knowles

Passing Through

It was not until my third affair (the wrench in my relationship with Despair), that I began souveniring. In some ways the habit snuck up on me and in some ways it did not. In some ways it was entirely haphazard, wild and almost beyond my control. In some ways, I was totally in control

Read More
Forgiveness
This Is Not Love Nneka Nicholas This Is Not Love Nneka Nicholas

Forgiveness

As Shea sat in the pew listening to Father Lewis preach about forgiveness, her mind wandered back to the trial. Fr. Lewis was getting into the throes of the sermon and showed no signs of letting up any time soon. She allowed her thoughts to drift.

Read More
NESTED
More Stories Javanna Cumberbatch More Stories Javanna Cumberbatch

NESTED

My gratitude for your kindness was never expressed

For I was too young to be grateful

Too young to care, understand, or appreciate

You blessed three little girls of color

And valued their mother, a loyal worker for years

Read More