Destra Garcia: queen of queens | Closeup By Nigel Campbell | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) T&T’s self-proclaimed Queen of Bacchanal is a Carnival mainstay. But, two decades into her career, Destra Garcia remains underestimated by local fans and critics, argues Nigel A. Campbell
Stories of steel | Panorama By Mark Lyndersay and Sharmain Baboolal | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Carnival is the season of steelpan. But behind the Panorama stage, the future of T&T’s national musical instrument will be shaped by administrators, craftspeople, arrangers, and educators — like these men and women profiled by writer Sharmain Baboolal and photographer Mark Lyndersay
Alicia Alonso: forever prima | Backstory By Nazma Muller | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) How did Havana come to be one of the world’s leading centres of classical ballet? Nazma Muller tells the story of prima donna assoluta Alicia Alonso, and her influence on generations of Cuban dancers
Diva Amon: as deep as it goes | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) The portion of the sea below two hundred metres is our planet’s biggest habitat, and the least known. Erline Andrews meets Trinidadian marine biologist Diva Amon, pioneering deep-sea research in our region
The Mighty Shadow | Icon By Attillah Springer | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Attillah Springer writes a letter to T&T’s late calypsonian-philosopher
Adam Patterson: barbed beauty | Closeup By Shereen Ali | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) For Barbadian artist Adam Patterson, masquerade and performance are mediums for challenging Caribbean stereotypes, writes Shereen Ann Ali
Claire Adam: “I’ve always felt, ask me where I’m from!” | Own words By Nicholas Laughlin | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Claire Adam, Trinidad-born novelist, on learning to observe, the usefulness of honest criticism, and the notion of “home” — as told to Nicholas Laughlin
Q&A with Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada | Screenshots (Nov/Dec 2018) By Jonathan Ali | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) A Q&A with Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada, directors of Miriam Lies
Michelle Sohan: the accidental baker | Cookup By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Baking wasn’t always a passion for Michelle Sohan — but this “accidental” career has won her international kudos
The inimitable Grace Jones | Backstory By Nazma Muller | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) She’s an instantly recognisable icon of music and fashion, with a forty-year career in the limelight. And the inimitable Grace Jones is Jamaican to the core, says Nazma Muller
Kevin Jared Hosein: a writer with a plan | Closeup By Shivanee Ramlochan | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) His recent win of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize affirms that Kevin Jared Hosein is a rising literary star. But his success didn’t come from nowhere, Shivanee Ramlochan discovers — rather, it’s the achievent of a patient devotion to writing, despite the odds
Jeanine De Bique: “It doesn’t matter where you come from” | Own words By Caroline Taylor | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Jeanine De Bique, Trinidad-born classical singer, on the influence of her upbringing, and why Trinis “could do anything” — as told to Caroline Taylor
“A travel bag should be a bit ugly” | In the bag By Mark Lyndersay | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) Photographer Mark Lyndersay explains why practicality trumps style when it comes to professional travel gear
Screenshots (Sept/Oct 2018) | Q&A By Jonathan Ali | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) A Q&A with Khalik Allah, director of Black Mother
Michele Henderson: “I woke up with an entire song in my head” By Paul Crask | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) Singer-songwriter Michele Henderson, performing at October’s World Creole Music Festival, on her musical childhood and her transition to the international stage — as told to Paul Crask, at her home in Grand Bay, Dominica
Savi Naipaul Akal: her side of the story | Snapshot By Ingrid Persaud | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) They’re the Caribbean’s great literary dynasty, but for decades their story has been written only by the Naipaul men. A new memoir by Savi Naipaul Akal tells another side of the tale, reports Ingrid Persaud
Georgia Popplewell: “In my dreams, my travel journals look like illuminated manuscripts” | In the bag By Georgia Popplewell | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) Georgia Popplewell — Trinidadian writer, media producer, and frequent traveller — on one essential item in her luggage: a decent notebook
Nailah Blackman: welcome to the evolution | Snapshot By Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) With music in her bloodline, T&T’s Nailah Blackman was almost destined for a career behind the microphone. She was the breakthrough performer of Carnival 2017, still a teenager — but, as she tells Laura Dowrich-Phillips, her ambitions go beyond soca, to another stage of musical evolution
OK to be proud | Inspire By Bridget van Dongen | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) Six years ago, the tragic suicide of a teenager motivated the launch of an initiative to support young LGBTQ people in Trinidad and Tobago. Bridget van Dongen reports on the Silver Lining Foundation, and how they work to protect the vulnerable
Arthur Wint: long before Bolt | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) Usain Bolt may be Jamaica’s most famous Olympic medallist — but he was far from the first. James Ferguson looks back at the life of Arthur Wint and his extraordinary achievements both on and off the track
“Just drive all around the island” | Personal tour By Caribbean Beat | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) Artist Suelin Low Chew Tung offers a tour of her home island, Grenada, from beaches to hiking to the best place to buy local chocolate
André Alexis: the puzzle of “home” | Closeup By Donna Yawching | Issue 150 (March/April 2018) Born in Trinidad, brought up in Canada, writer André Alexis is a “Nowherian” — and that complicated identity, along with his passion for exploring big ideas, drives his philosophical and deeply literary novels. A recent string of awards has raised his international profile, but as Donna Yawching learns, it was no overnight success for one of the most original writers in both Caribbean and Canadian literature
