Bookshelf (May/June 2021) | Book reviews
This month’s reading picks from the Caribbean, with reviews of A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie; Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden; An Autobiography of the Autobiography of Reading by Dionne Brand; and Mama Phife Represents: A Verse Memoir by Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
Dionne Brand: The reinvention of poetry | Closeup
Born in Trinidad and based in Canada, writer Dionne Brand has spent decades exploring the transgressive possibilities of poetry, says Shivanee Ramlochan — breaking through boundaries of genre in her quest to understand the shapeshifting self
André Alexis: the puzzle of “home” | Closeup
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
Man with a Mission
Chandradath Singh is in Miami on a mission. Not just a professional mission of diplomacy-the pursuit of trade, tourism and investment. This...
Richard Fung: no easy readings
My conversation with Richard Fung doesn’t begin with the most pleasant of topics. It’s only a few days after the horrific incident in...
Toronto: summer in the city
They may not have written any soulful ballads about it (yet) — but Toronto in summer is well worth singing about. For one thing, it’s...
Roger Mooking: his middle name is Multi-tasking
Roger Mooking’s face lights up when he talks about eggs. “Eggs are magic food,” he exclaims. “You can do so much with an egg....
Patrick Parson: soulful messiah of Ballet Creole
Fusion. Diversity. High-energy. These are the words one encounters, over and over, in articles written about Patrick Parson and his...
