Antilles: the weblog of the CRB

Mark your calendar

Events on the Caribbean literary calendar over the next fortnight.

Haiti on the mind: From 15 to 17 May, the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies is hosting Haiti Now!: Art, Film, Literature, a major conference on contemporary Haitian culture. Participants include Haitian artists and writers, and scholars from several countries. All events are open to the public, and admission is free.

Miss Lou in Miami: On Thursday 17 May, at 6.30 pm, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida will host a "Tribute to Miss Lou", celebrating the life and work of the late Louise Bennett-Coverly. After a screening of the film Miss Lou Then and Now, writers Malachi Smith, Donna Weir-Soley, Andrea Smith, and Geoffrey Philp will perform some of the Jamaican icon's works. Admission is free. [Read Garnette Cadogan's tribute to Miss Lou from the November 2006 CRB.]



Louise Bennett-Coverly

Calabashment: The Calabash International Literary Festival, which has become one of the major events in the Caribbean's literary year, runs from 25 to 27 May, in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. The long weekend of readings, music, and conversation between readers and writers--participants are supposed to include Maryse Condé, Caryl Phillips, Kendel Hippolyte, and Michael Ondaatje--will this year also feature the announcement of the Commonwealth Writers' Prizes.

Nettleford speaks: Rex Nettleford, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, will deliver the 21st Eric Williams Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, on 25 May. The lecture is titled "Slavery and Education in the Caribbean: Mask, Myth, and Metaphor". Admission is free, but tickets are required. Contact the Central Bank for more information. (On his way to Trinidad, Nettleford will deliver a lecture in St Kitts--"The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery: The Psychic Inheritance"--on 23 May, as part of a series organised by the St Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO.)

Celebrating books: The theme of the 2007 St Martin Book Fair, which runs from 31 May to 2 June, is "Writing Justice". Events include a keynote address by Earl Lovelace, an evening of readings and recitations, and book sales and signings. A detailed schedule is posted on the Caribbean Beat blog.

Staging a classic: The Caribbean American Repertory Theatre (CART), based in New York, presents Errol John's classic play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, directed by Michael Rogers, in six performances, 30 May to 3 June, and 9 June. More information and a full schedule are posted at the Caribbean Beat blog. Later in June, CART will present a staged reading of Currying Favour, by Al Hendricks.