Dionne Brand: The reinvention of poetry | Closeup By Shivanee Ramlochan | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) 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 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
Man with a mission By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 45 (September/October 2000) Eve M. Ferguson talks to a man who's energetically promoting Caribbean culture in North America
Richard Fung: no easy readings By Jonathan Ali | Issue 141 (September/October 2016) Born in Trinidad, based in Canada, navigating between identities — gay, Chinese-descended, Caribbean diaspora — filmmaker Richard Fung was “intersectional” before the term even existed, writes Jonathan Ali, and his complicated background informs his pioneering, innovative work
Toronto: summer in the city By Donna Yawching | Issue 134 (July/August 2015) Home to one of North America’s biggest Caribbean populations, Toronto comes alive in the summertime, with festivals, street fairs, and — this year — the Pan Am Games. Some of the city’s Caribbean residents give Donna Yawching their advice on the best of Toronto, from music to food to outdoor fun
Roger Mooking: his middle name is Multi-tasking By Donna Yawching | Issue 108 (March/April 2011) Trinidad-born Roger Mooking is in demand in Canada as a chef, TV host, singer-songwriter…Donna Yawching tries to count his talents
Patrick Parson: soulful messiah of Ballet Creole By Donna Yawching | Issue 108 (March/April 2011) Patrick Parson brought Afro-Caribbean dance to Toronto two decades ago. He told Donna Yawching how he made history
Anton Gabriel: the man with the golden boots By Donna Yawching | Issue 107 (January/February 2011) T&T Carnival now has a home in the east end of Toronto, where Anton Gabriel has founded his own museum of mas. Donna Yawching dropped by
RBC & RBTT: Bank on a bigger future By James Fuller | Issue 100 (November/December 2009) The regional financial giant RBTT merged with the Royal Bank of Canada a year ago. James Fuller checks on their progress so far
Frank Francis: riding Toronto’s jazz trane By Donna Yawching | Issue 98 (July/August 2009) Donna Yawching gets on board the little jazz bar that could, and then man — Frank Francis — who can
Brownman blows up a storm By Donna Yawching | Issue 96 (March/April 2009) This young jazz trumpeter, based in Toronto, leads no fewer than seven bands, and can switch styles as easily as he changes his socks.
Jim Westlake charts new waters By James Fuller | Issue 94 (November/December 2008) Jim Westlake plays guitar in a rock band, even though he’s also busy overseeing the Caribbean regional banking institution RBTT’s merger with the Royal Bank of Canada...
Buljol, business and books By Mirissa De Four | Issue 87 (September/October 2007) A friendship formed over a plate of bake and buljol has resulted in the establishment of A Different Booklist, a Canadian bookstore
Family’s fortunes: Aston “Family Man” Barrett By Garry Steckles | Issue 79 (May/June 2006) Garry Steckles explains why he thinks the great reggae bass guitarist Aston “Family Man” Barrett deserves a more prominent place in music history
Sandra Brewster: the shape of a name By Nicholas Laughlin | Issue 121 (May/June 2013) For Guyanese-Canadian artist Sandra Brewster, the phone book, with its long lists of names, sums up the way individual lives can disappear into
Kobo Town: sing the beloved country By Donna Yawching | Issue 120 (March/April 2013) Based in Toronto but drawing on the musical traditions of Trinidad, Kobo Town fuses old-time calypso with up-to-the-moment poetic lyrics.
Island girl By Donna Yawching | Issue 114 (March/April 2012) Wintering on a Canadian island, Donna Yawching was reminded – surprisingly – of her tropical home
The hottest cup of tea By Leone Redman | Issue 102 (March/April 2010) Sipping her favourite brew on the verandah long ago, Leone Redman stored up treasured memories and learned a lesson for life
‘Round breakfast By Donna Yawching | Issue 103 (May/June 2010) Early-morning jazz music is a specialty at Ellington’s café in Toronto. Donna Yawching samples the menu
Rhythms International rocks By Garry Steckles | Issue 106 (November/December 2010) Radio DJ Angus Mackay is spreading the gospel of world music, one Iraqi at a time. Garry Steckles is a convert to the cause
Hot Shoppe in a cold country By Debbie Jacob | Issue 112 (November/December 2011) It’s not just homesick and hungry West Indians who visit this Caribbean outpost in Canada. Debbie Jacob finds out why
The Bellairs Research Institute: Finding the Answers By Roxan Kinas | Issue 11 (Autumn 1994) The work of McGill University's Caribbean-based research institute in Barbados
