(Last updated on 07/11/16)

2016 CARIBBEAN SERIES

In collaboration with Books and Books, The Miami Book Fair Year-Round, Orange Island Foundation, Reading Queer, The Little Haiti Cultural Center, and Undergrounds Coffeehaus, The Whimsical Project is proud to announce the 2016 Caribbean Series.

During the 2016 Caribbean Series, readers in South Florida (with one event in Los Angeles, California) will enjoy up-close-and-personal discussions and book signings with authors with ties to the Caribbean and/or whose work highlight island culture and interests.

(Please visit this page from time to time as more events will be added.)

 

January 24 @ 6:30PM
Sunday Salon South Florida
Undergrounds Coffeehaus, Fort Lauderdale

A year ago, Laura McDermott started Orange Island Arts Foundation.  Since then, OIAF has had over 70 projects within the community, and developed a partnership with a reading series based out of NYC called Sunday Salon.  In the odd months of the year, OIAF features a Sunday reading at the Undergrounds Coffehaus in Fort Lauderdale.

Orange Island Arts Foundation is thrilled to be the official host of Sunday Salon South Florida!  On January 24th, in prelude to Black History Month, the event will feature poets M.J. (Jessica) Fievre and Geoffrey Philp. Doors of café open at 4pm.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

Born in Jamaica, Geoffrey has published one novel, five volumes of poetry, two short-story collections, and three children’s books. His work is represented in nearly every anthology of Caribbean literature, and he is one of the few writers whose work has been published in the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse. Philp is currently working on a collection of poems, Letter from Marcus Garvey and a novel, Garvey’s Ghost. He teaches English at the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College.

January 29 @ 8 PM
HAITI: Chaos, Dictatorship, and Rebirth
Books and Books, Coral Gables

In Miami, for the most part, we don’t have to worry about fraudulent elections or military coups; We can sit down at a decent restaurant in Little Haiti or on Calle Ocho, over food we didn’t have to loot or riot for, then walk out of the venue without fear of shootings, home invasions, humans burned in neighborhood streets, or machete-wielding macoutes. In Haiti, however, chaos is the status quo. Haitian-American authors Mireille Sylvain-David, MJ Fievre, Katia D. Ulysse, and Fabienne Josaphat will share stories of the personal effect of chaos. They will share how hardship can taint, and uniquely beautify a home. These writers will bring to you stories from their Haiti — stories of turmoil, chaos, and confusion, but also of hope and perseverance. Hector Duarte Jr. will moderate the reading.

Hector is a writer out of Miami, Florida. To keep himself financially stable, he teaches English to seventh graders. To keep himself mentally stable, he reads, and writes as many stories as he can. His work has appeared in Bewildering Stories, Flash: The International Short Story Magazine, Sliver of Stone, Foliate Oak, Flash Fiction Offensive, Shotgun Honey, Rockwell’s Camera Phone, Near to the Knuckle, Shadows and Light: An Anthology to Benefit Women’s Aid UK, and The Whimsical Project. He has presented papers at The Crime Fiction Here and There and Again Conference in Gdansk, Poland and the Captivating Criminality 2 Conference in Corsham, England. He loves his cat, Felina, very much.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

Fabienne was born and raised in Haiti, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as screenplays. Her work has been featured in The Master’s Review, Grist Journal, Damselfly, Hinchas de Poesia, Off the Coast Journal and The Caribbean Writer. Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow is her first novel with Unnamed Press, forthcoming in February 2016.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Mireille is the daughter of Marcel L. Sylvain, Haitian playwright/dramaturge (1910-1987) who authored the famous play “Loccocia” (1946) and the popular song, “Haiti.” Mireille, who is also a poet, has published several novels in French, including Il Faut Sauver Elizabeth and Pures et Troublantes Vérités. A graduate from the Sociology and Anthropology program at Florida International University, she is the founder of HAYO (Haitian American Youth Organization of Kendall) and the author of the sociological novel Beyond the Rubble (Kiskeya Publishing, 2014).

Katia was born in Haiti, and moved to the United States as a teen. Her writings have been published in numerous literary journals, including the Caribbean Writer, Meridians, Calabash,Peregrine, and Smartish Pace, among others. Her work has also appeared in The Butterfly’s Wayand Haiti Noir. Her first children’s book, Fabiola Can Count, was published in 2013. Ulysse lives in Maryland with her husband and daughter. When she’s not reading, writing fiction, gardening, or teaching, she blogs on VoicesfromHaiti.com. Drifting is her first book of fiction.

February 10 @ 12:30 PM
Black History Month: A Sky the Color of Chaos
Broward College, South Campus PCAT

M.J. Fievre will be reading from her memoir, A Sky the Color of Chaos.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

February 12 @ 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM
MLL Annual Graduate Student Conference:
Recycling Culture(s): Poetics and Practices of Sustainability
University of Miami, 1314 Miller Drive, FL 33124

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Student Conference Presents “Recycling Culture(s): Poetics and Practices of Sustainability” on Friday, February 12th in the  CAS Gallery at the Wesley Center

Keynote Speakers:
Haitian writer Michèle-Jessica Fièvre
Colombian artist Federico Uribe

Moments of crisis make possible new forms of expression, including cultural initiatives, social cooperatives, and political movements informed by diverse concepts of recycling and sustainability. “Recycling” engulfs more than reusing materials: it also means re-appropriating and repurposing ideas, resources, and forms of cultural production to new ends. For instance, the Cartonera publishing groups of Buenos Aires; Milan’s “Piano City;” Casablanca’s Abbatoirs; the repurposed pieces of tire, plastic, and metal that enclose and adorn André Eugène’s mother and child in Ayiti Pap Peri; and Miami’s Wynwood Arts District all emerge from radically distinct situations of local crisis, and yet, they share sustainable and communal approaches to understanding and addressing social, political, and economic quandaries that exist across the globe.

For more informaiton on the conference, visit mllgraduateconference.blogspot.com.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

February 12 @ 6PM
Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow
Books & Books, Coral Gables

Where else would Fabienne Josaphat start her book tour than home in Miami? She’ll be reading and signing copies of Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow at @Books&Books on February 12, 2016 at 8 P.M. You can watch from anywhere online via Livestream here if you can’t make it.

Fabienne Josaphat was born and raised in Haiti, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as screenplays. Her work has been featured in The Master’s Review, Grist Journal, Damselfly, Hinchas de Poesia, Off the Coast Journal and The Caribbean Writer. Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow is her first novel with Unnamed Press, forthcoming in February 2016.

February 21 @ 6PM
Dark Matters of Love
Books and Books, Coral Gables

Four women writers will read their writing: dark stories of love gone sour. Anjanette Delgado, Jaquira Díaz, MJ Fievre, and Amina Gautier are deeply interested in the psychological complexity of characters in the grips of obsession and seek to understand what internal conflicts produce their behavior and decisions. The expression of this obsession, and the resolution of the questions it produces, are worked out in the creative writing of the authors. Moderator: TBA

Anjanette is an award-winning Puerto Rican novelist, speaker, and journalist who has written or produced for media outlets such as NBC, CNN, NPR, Univision, HBO and Vogue Magazine’s Latam and Mexico divisions, and for Telemundo, among others. She’s covered presidential coups, elections, the Olympics, both Iraq wars and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her human-interest television series “Madres en la Lejanía” won an Emmy award for its depiction of Latina mothers working as undocumented nannies in the United States, while living with the consequences of having left their own children behind in search of a better life. Her original screenplay for HBO, “Good in Bed,” was a thesis on the life moments in which sex, love, identity, self, and society collide.  Anjanette is the author of The Heartbreak Pill (Simon and Schuster’s Atria Books, 2008 and 2009) and The Clairvoyant of Calle Ocho (Kensington Publishing 2014 and Penguin Random House 2014).  She lives in Miami with her husband, Daniel, and her Mini Daschund, Chloe.

Jaquira is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, a Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, the Carl Djerassi Fiction Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and an NEA Fellowship to the Hambidge Center for the Arts. She’s been awarded fellowships or scholarships from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, The MacDowell Colony, Summer Literary Seminars, the Tin House Summer Writers’ Workshop, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her work is noted in The Best American Essays, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and appears in The Guardian, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, The Sun, The Southern Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. She is editor of 15 Views of Miami, a collection of linked short stories by fifteen different Miami authors.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

Amina is the author of three award-winning short story collections: At-Risk, Now We Will Be Happy and the The Loss of All Lost Things. At-Risk was awarded the Flannery O’Connor Award, The First Horizon Award, and the Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction Award. Now We Will Be Happy was awarded the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Award and a USA Best Book Award. The Loss of All Lost Things was awarded the Elixir Press Award in Fiction and is forthcoming in 2016. Gautier’s stories have appeared in numerous literary journals, including Agni, Callaloo, Glimmer Train, Iowa Review, Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Southern Review, and StoryQuarterly. Gautier has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from Breadloaf Writer’s Conference, Callaloo, Hawthornden, Hurston/Wright Foundation, Key West Literary Seminars, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the MacDowell Colony, the Ragdale Foundation, the Sewanee Writer’s Conference, Ucross, and the Vermont Studio Center. Gautier was born and raised in Brooklyn New York, was educated at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught creative writing and African American literature at Saint Joseph’s University, Washington University in St. Louis, and DePaul University. She currently teaches in the MFA program at the University of Miami.

March 4
Literary Feast @ Miramar High School

Local author M.J. Fievre will visit Miramar High School as part of Broward County’s literacy initiative called Novel Day for Students.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

March 18 @ 6PM
A Feast of Women Voices
Little Haiti Cultural Center

Every third Friday, enjoy a night of music, art, food, culture and fun, produced by The Rhythm Foundation and Little Haiti Cultural Center. On March 18, readers will enjoy up-close-and-personal discussions with seven women writers of Haitian descent.

This particular event is a partnership with The Miami Book Fair Year-Round, as part of their BIG READ project. The Big Read is a national NEA program where a literary nonprofit organization chooses a book and encourages their community to read it over the course of a month. This year, The Miami Book Fair has chosen Edwidge Danticat’s Brother, I’m Dying and will be celebrating her book and all things Haitian-American for the entire month of March. To find out more about The Big Read, check out the website.

Authors featured at the Little Haiti Cultural Center include Rebecca N. Carmant, M.J. Fievre, Fabienne Josaphat, Margaret Papillon, Mahalia Solages, Marie-Ketsia Theodore-Pharel, and Cynthia Verna.

March 26 @ 7:00 PM
Storypalooza: The Big Read Edition (Family stories)
Books & Books, Coral Gables

The Book Fair is planning a fun event on Saturday, March 26, as part of the Big Read, a month-long series of events focused on Edwidge Danticat’s memoir Brother I’m Dying.

Come out for a storytelling open mic! This is how it works: you got 3 minutes to tell your story in front of a panel of editors from Lip Service, Miami’s own, home-grown, live (true) storytelling event. Get some feedback from these pros before the submission period for May’s Lip Service show.
Free: RSVP required

March 30 – April 2
Land of Upheaval: A Literary Journey through Haiti’s Modern History. 
AWP 2016: Los Angeles, California

“It is the destiny of the people of Haiti to suffer,” President François Duvalier once said. Fabienne Josaphat, M.J. Fievre, and Katia D. Ulysse will share first and third person accounts of the days of Papa Doc Duvalier, the tumultuous times of President-Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the 2012 earthquake tragedy. The panel will discuss how myths and tales about Haiti have been used for political ends. Three authors. Three voices. Three slices of chaotic Haitian history. (Moderator: Hector Duarte Jr.)

April 16 @ 11:00 AM
Footprints Foundation: Annual Literary Jazz Brunch
Ritz Carlton Hotel in Coconut Grove

Haitian-American writer M.J. Fievre will be among the 5 Best Selling Authors to speak about their literary works. Book signings to follow, sponsored Books and Books (Coral Gables, Florida).

All proceeds to Benefit Footprints Foundation, dedicated to improving mortality rates of infants and mothers in 58 countries through medical treatment and training in midwifery.
Current focus – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Somaliland and the United States.

Spectacular setting at “The Ritz” with a scrumptious breakfast buffet.
Peruse our marketplace – we have selected a limited amount of quality vendors providing jewelry, handbags, candles, and more.
Live Jazz performance.

Join our growing Jazz brunch Literary Alumni such as: Liz Truccillo, Victoria Moran, Mirta Ojito and Patrica Schultz.

 

April 28 @ 8 PM
Poetry and Paella night at the Betsy Hotel
Details TBA

Saturday, May 14, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Haitian Heritage Month: A Sky the Color of Chaos
West Boynton Branch Library 

Meet the Author: MJ Fievre
MJ Fievre will be discussing her memoir, A Sky the Color of Chaos. Her book is based on the true story of her Haitian childhood during the turbulent rise and fall of President-Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. The book will be available for purchase and signing (60 min.)

Address: 9451 Jog Rd, Boynton Beach, Florida 33437
Call 734-5556 to preregister.

A Sky the Color of Chaos is available for check out through the Palm Beach County Library System.

Please encourage your friends and students to read the book and join us for Haitian Heritage Month. My Book Talk is scheduled for Saturday, May 14, 2:00 pm at the West Boynton Branch on Jog Road.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

May 15 @ 7PM
Sunday Salon South Florida
Undergrounds Coffeehaus, Fort Lauderdale

On May 15, Orange Island Arts Foundation is happy to celebrate Haitian Heritage Month with writers  M.J. (Jessica) Fievre and Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel. Doors of café open at 4pm.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti, and currently lives in Homestead, Florida with her children and husband. She earned a bachelor’s from Tufts University and a master’s in English from UMass Boston.  Her most recent publications include “Kako Blood” inThe Caribbean Writer, 2011; “Mercy at the Gate” in the acclaimed anthology Haiti Noir, edited by Edwidge Danticat in 2011; “Haiti: a Cigarette Burning at both Ends” published in Butterfly Ways: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States, edited by Edwidge Danticat.  Her children’s books include Beauty Walks in Nature(2010), Songs from a Tower (2009), Keeper of the Sky (2007), One More Daughter, America (2006),Daughter of the House (2005), A Fish Called Tanga (2003), I’ll Fly Away (1999).  Her short stories published in magazines include “The Mango Tree” in Compost Magazine (1994); “Light Chocolate Child” in Onyx (1995), and “Soup Joumou: Diary of a Mad Woman,” in African Home front Magazine (1996).

May 18
New Haitian Generation, Flag Day Marathon on BECON-TV
Comcast channel 19 / AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Dish Network Channel 63

BECON-TV is running a marathon of the New Haitian Generation on May 18, 2016 in honor of Haitian Flag Day as well as Haitian Heritage month. Please tune in and watch. Here is a list of times that different shows that will air on WBEC-TV 63/Classroom Channel 16/Cable 19.

2:00pm NEH – 44 Calvin Hughes
2:30pm NEH – 49 Tap Tap Restaurant Gary Jules
3:00pm NEH – 32 Duprat Ron
3:30pm NEH – 54 Foundcare
4:00pm NEH – 55 Do Something Club
4:30pm NEH – 56 Haitian Heritage Museum
5:00pm NEH – 53 Daniel Bernard Roumain
5:30pm NEH – 52 Award winning author Edwidge Danticat
6:00pm NEH – 58 Mack Bernard
6:30pm NEH – 59 Master Storyteller Lucrece Louisdhon-Louinis
7:00pm NEH – 71 Recording Artist
7:30pm NEH – 76 Haitian novelist & writer Michèle Jessica Fièvre
8:00pm NEH – 70 Principle Life Youth Development
8:30pm NEH – 77 Track & Field Athlete
9:00pm NEH – 72 OIC of South Florida
9:30pm NEH – 81 Sunshine on Stormy Seas
10:00pm NEH – 80 Team Saving our Youth
10:30pm NEH – 79 HACCHI films
11:00pm NEH – 78 RegalPoete
11:30pm NEH – 65 Woman Child

 

May 29 @ 11 AM
4th Annual Haitian-Caribbean Book Fair
Little Haiti Cultural Complex 

June 9 – July 9
Miami MicroTheater

Microtheater Miami and Centro Cultural Español dedicate this season to LGTBIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual and queer) communities.

M.J. Fievre’s play, NO PILL FOR LOVERHORN, will be performed at MicroTheaterMiami. Jun 9th – July 9th. Come and see this verse-in-play about sex, violence and lies between lovers.

Directed by Rommel Arellán-Mariñas. Produced by Gladys Ramirez. Featuring Arturo Sierra and Jair Bula.

Rommel Arellan-Marinas is the Production Manager at Fantasy Theatre Factory as well as a current BFA candidate at Florida International University (FIU). He recently won both the Regional and National Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) Award for Directing from the Kennedy Center College Theater Festival in Charleston, SC and Washington, DC respectively. Rommel’s directing credits include “Spring Awakening” (Quantum Entertainment, Miami) and his own devised theatre piece entitled “Device: A Love Story” (FIU, Miami).

June 21 @ 8PM
Beyond Margins, Within Intersections: Caribbean LGBTQ Literature
Books & Books, Coral Gables

In the Caribbean, LGBTQ individuals live in fear of being ostracized at best and physically assaulted at worst. LGBTQ writers from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto-Rico will read stories and poems that address their common challenges and concerns as they embrace identities that intersect, and that are also at the margins of society. They will discuss issues related to representation and visibility (both at home and in the Diaspora) and consider whether literature can act as a dwelling place for those rejected by their families and communities. Join The Miami Book Fair, Reading Queer and The Whimsical Project as we celebrate the contributions of Caribbean LGBTQ writers past and present, and discover multiple experiences of writing beyond today’s boundaries. Moderated by Omar Figueras and M.J. Fievre.

June 24, 2016 @ 8:00 PM
Premiere of the Haitian-American Women Writers
The New Haitian Generation on BECON

Don’t miss the premiere of the Haitian-American Women Writers on the New Haitian Generation, with Fabienne Josaphat, Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel,Mahalia Solages, and M.J. Fievre.

The program airs on Thursday, June 23, at 8:00 pm.

July 13, 2016 @ 6:30 PM
Otto G. Ruchter Library, 8th Floor
University of Miami | 1300 Memorial Drive | Coral Gables, FL 33146

University of Miami Special Collections cordially invites you to a reception in appreciation of those who made possible the 
Caribbean Diaspora Oral History Project.


This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP to richterevents@miami.edu or call 305-284-4026

In 2015, 20 influential Miamians took part in the inaugural series of oral history interviews known as the Caribbean Diaspora Oral History Project. By sharing their stories, these individuals have helped the University of Miami Special Collections continue its important work of documenting the history of the Caribbean and its diaspora for the future use of students, scholars, artists, and community researchers.

Please join us for a reception to celebrate the completion of this inaugural series and recognize the individuals who have made it possible.



#CaribbeanVoices


Find Special Collections on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for special sneak peaks of the project—featuring a new oral history donor each day!

Read the interview with M.J. Fievre.
 
This project is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of Arts and Culture and the State of Florida.

July 15 @ 8 PM
Ropes of the Caribbean: A Literary Conversation
Books & Books, Coral Gables

To celebrate the release of her debut novel Rope, Haitian-American writer M. Ketsia Theodore-Pharel will be in conversation with a panel of celebrated writers of Caribbean descent. Members of the audience will not only get insight into Theodore-Pharel’s creative process and the origins of Rope (Belgazel Books, 2016), but they will also discover the strong links that exist among different countries of the Caribbean in terms of culture, history, and ideologies. This event is part of The Whimsical Project’s 2016 Caribbean Series.

Marie Ketsia Theodore-Pharel was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti, and currently lives in Homestead, Florida with her children and husband. She earned a bachelor’s from Tufts University and a master’s in English from UMass Boston.  Her most recent publications include “Kako Blood” inThe Caribbean Writer, 2011; “Mercy at the Gate” in the acclaimed anthology Haiti Noir, edited by Edwidge Danticat in 2011; “Haiti: a Cigarette Burning at both Ends” published in Butterfly Ways: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States, edited by Edwidge Danticat.  Her children’s books include Beauty Walks in Nature(2010), Songs from a Tower (2009), Keeper of the Sky (2007), One More Daughter, America (2006),Daughter of the House (2005), A Fish Called Tanga (2003), I’ll Fly Away (1999).  Her short stories published in magazines include “The Mango Tree” in Compost Magazine (1994); “Light Chocolate Child” in Onyx (1995), and “Soup Joumou: Diary of a Mad Woman,” in African Home front Magazine (1996).

THE PANEL

Fabienne Josaphat is the author of Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow (Unnamed Press, 2016). She was born and raised in Haiti, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as screenplays. Her work has been featured in The Master’s Review, Grist Journal, Damselfly, Hinchas de Poesia, Off the Coast Journal, and The Caribbean Writer.

Born in Jamaica, Geoffrey Philp has published one novel, five volumes of poetry, two short-story collections, and three children’s books. His work is represented in nearly every anthology of Caribbean literature, and he is one of the few writers whose work has been published in the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse. Philp is currently working on a collection of poems, Letter from Marcus Garvey and a novel, Garvey’s Ghost. He teaches English at the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College.

Dr. Donna Aza Weir-Soley was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica and migrated to the United States at the age of 17. She attended high school in both Jamaica and New York, and received her diploma from Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York. She graduated summa cum laude from the City University of New York, Hunter College. Weir-Soley was a Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellow at the Oxford Center for African Studies at Jesus College, Oxford University in the summer of 1989. She received the Andrew Mellon Graduate Fellowship in the Humanities in 1990 to attend the school of her choice, the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Weir-Soley graduated from Berkeley with an MA in English with a special emphasis in Creative Writing in 1993, and a Ph.D. in English Literary Studies in 2000. She is currently an Associate Professor of English, African & African Diaspora Studies and Women’s Studies at Florida International University. Professor Weir-Soley won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in 2004-2005 to complete her scholarly work, Eroticism Spirituality and Resistance in Black Women’s Writings. It was published by the University Press of Florida in 2009. However, her first love is poetry and her poetry collection, First Rain, was published in 2006 by Peepal Tree Press in the United Kingdom. She later undertook the monumental task (with fellow writer Opal Palmer Adisa) of putting together an anthology of Caribbean writings. Caribbean Erotic was published by Peepal Tree Press in 2010, and includes poetry, fiction and essays from 62 writers from the Anglophone, Hispanophone and Francophone Caribbean islands, and from various Caribbean diasporas including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Her latest publication, The Woman Who Knew, is a book of poetry, published by Finishing Line Press (2016).

THE MODERATOR

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. FIEVRE published her first mystery novel, Le Feu de la Vengeance, at the age of sixteen. At nineteen, she signed her first book contract with Hachette-Deschamps, in Haiti, for the publication of a Young Adult book titled La Statuette Maléfique. Since then, M.J. has authored nine books in French. Two years ago, One Moore Book released M.J.’s children’s book, I Am Riding, written in three languages: English, French, and Haitian Creole. A Sky the Color of Chaos is her first book in English. M.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Barry University and an MFA from the Creative Writing program at Florida International University. She taught writing at Nova Middle School in Davie, FL, and is currently a professor at Miami Dade College.

July 17 @ 7PM
Sunday Salon South Florida
Undergrounds Coffeehaus, Fort Lauderdale

Orange Island Arts Foundation is thrilled to be the official host of Sunday Salon South Florida!  On July 17, the event will feature writers Donna Weir-Soley and AFabienne Josaphat. Doors of café open at 4pm.

Dr. Donna Aza Weir-Soley was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica and migrated to the United States at the age of 17. She attended high school in both Jamaica and New York, and received her diploma from Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York. She graduated summa cum laude from the City University of New York, Hunter College. Weir-Soley was a Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellow at the Oxford Center for African Studies at Jesus College, Oxford University in the summer of 1989. She received the Andrew Mellon Graduate Fellowship in the Humanities in 1990 to attend the school of her choice, the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Weir-Soley graduated from Berkeley with an MA in English with a special emphasis in Creative Writing in 1993, and a Ph.D. in English Literary Studies in 2000. She is currently an Associate Professor of English, African & African Diaspora Studies and Women’s Studies at Florida International University. Professor Weir-Soley won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in 2004-2005 to complete her scholarly work, Eroticism Spirituality and Resistance in Black Women’s Writings. It was published by the University Press of Florida in 2009. However, her first love is poetry and her poetry collection, First Rain, was published in 2006 by Peepal Tree Press in the United Kingdom. She later undertook the monumental task (with fellow writer Opal Palmer Adisa) of putting together an anthology of Caribbean writings. Caribbean Erotic was published by Peepal Tree Press in 2010, and includes poetry, fiction and essays from 62 writers from the Anglophone, Hispanophone and Francophone Caribbean islands, and from various Caribbean diasporas including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Her latest publication, The Woman Who Knew, is a book of poetry, published by Finishing Line Press (2016).

Fabienne Josaphat is the author of Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow (Unnamed Press, 2016). She was born and raised in Haiti, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, as well as screenplays. Her work has been featured in The Master’s Review, Grist Journal, Damselfly, Hinchas de Poesia, Off the Coast Journal and The Caribbean Writer. 

July 23 @ 12PM
South Florida Book Festival: Under the Surface of Caribbean Life
African-American Research Library & Cultural Center

The South Florida Book Festival is back! Please join us on Saturday, July 23, 2016 at the African-American Research Library & Cultural Center. 12PM: Under the Surface of Caribbean Life. Panel discussion with M.J. Fievre and Colin Channer. Moderated by Hector Duarte Jr.