Miami has emerged as the unofficial crossroads of the Caribbean, which is why the Fair has always included the most prominent writers from the region. This year, the Fair formalizes this focus by establishing ReadCaribbean, a program featuring extensive Caribbean-specific events, including readings and panel discussions, children’s writers to inspire young readers, book signings, storytelling and music, plus publishers at the Street Fair. When appropriate, author events will take place in Creole (with simultaneous translation into English).
N ap tann tout moun. Pa vin di ou pat konnen.
ReadCaribbean programs created in partnership with Sosyete Koukouy, Bocas Literary Festival and ReadJamaica, with the support of Knight Foundation.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 / ROOM 8301
Saturday, 10:30 A.M. TRANSATLANTIC POLLINATION. With Jacqueline Couti, Laurent Dubois, Ronald Angelo Johnson, Andrea J. Queeley. Moderator: Marlene L. Daut. (In English)
The Caribbean colonies were established — and served for centuries — as a nexus for various forms of trade. The region also became a cultural crossroads, blending European, African and indigenous American culture. This panel explores the interplay of cultural currents throughout the Caribbean.
Saturday, 12:00 P.M. ORIGINS PRESENTS: THE POLITICS OF PLEASURE: CARIBBEAN WOMEN WRITING ABOUT SEX. With Anjanette Delgado, Fabienne Josaphat, Katia D. Ulysse, Donna Aza Weir-Soley. Moderators: Hector Duarte Jr., Jennifer Maritza McCauley. (In English)
Caribbean sexuality is both hyper-visible and obscured. Celebrated in popular culture as an important ingredient in Caribbean social life, and flaunted to attract tourists to the region, sex is also shrouded in double entendre, secrecy and shame. This panel, presented by Origins, a literary journal that explores the narrative arts through the lens of identity, discusses the difficulties and delights of Caribbean women writing about sex and desire across generations, cultures, and genres.
Saturday, 1:30 P.M. THE CARIBBEAN SHORT STORY: CONTINUITY, INNOVATION, AND THE VOICES OF STORY WRITING. With Rhoda Bharath, Sharon Millar, Olive Senior. (In English)
The short story is a vital Caribbean literary form. Through its continuity and innovation, the short story gathers and reflects the individual and collective voices of culture and history. This panel of Caribbean short story writers and editors will consider the problems and possibilities aesthetic, traditional, ideological, and cultural of publishing short stories, as they also explore the ways that short fiction has changed the Caribbean literary landscape over the ages.
Saturday, 3:00 P.M. NO PLACE LIKE HOME: SETTING IN THE CONTEMPORARY CARIBBEAN NOVEL. With Fabienne Josaphat, Jacqueline Bishop, Marie-Ketsia Théodore-Pharel. (In English)
Where does one set the modern novel in this globalized age? What are the artistic and political implications of these choices? In a modern world where stories take place across and outside of national boundaries, how does setting impact subject, tone, and point of view? This panel of Caribbean writers with ties to multiple countries reflect on how they situate the trans-national novel, and highlight narrative tools to bring geographically rich narratives to life.
Saturday, 4:30 P.M. READING JAMAICA. Fresh poetry and prose from some of Jamaica’s finest writers. With Garfied Ellis, A-dZiko Simba Gegele, Geoffrey Philp, Tanya Shirley. (In English)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 / ROOM 8301
Sunday, 11:00 A.M. KREYÒL PALE, KREYÒL KONPRANN! A DISCUSSION WITH MEMBERS OF THE KREYÒL ACADEMY. With Gérard A. Férère, Michel-Ange Hyppolite, Claude Pierre, Jean-Robert Placide, Marie Jocelyne Trouillot. Moderator: Max Manigat. (In Kreyòl Ayisyen)
Pa gen twò lontan, Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen boujonnen nan peyi Dayiti pou li asire devlòpman, prezèvasyon, ak simayman lang kreyòl. Manm konsèy Akademi an, ansanm ak detwa lòt kokennchenn entelektyèl, ki se gwo save sou zafè lang kreyòl, pwal prezante travay yo te fè e kontinye ap fè nan kad kreyòl ayisyen, ansanm ak sa ki gen pou fèt toujou nan lavni.
Haiti’s recently established “Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen” is tasked with the development, preservation and propagation of Haitian Creole. Current members of this pre-eminent council on all matters pertaining to the language, present their ongoing work on the past, present and future of Kreyòl Ayisyen.
Sunday, 12:30 P.M. PWEZI KREYÒL KOUNYE A: MODERN HAITIAN CREOLE POETRY. With Josaphat-Robert Large, Yvette Leroy – Wanègès, Schiller Marcelin, Iléus Papillon. Moderator: Lochard Noël. (In Kreyòl Ayisyen)
Yon gwoup powèt ayisyen kontanporen pwal prezante diferan fòm powetik « modèn » ki genyen nan lang kreyòl. Vin asiste bèl woumble sa a, pou aprann tousa ki enpòtan sou pase, prezan, ak fiti pwezi peyi nou.
A panel of contemporary poets detail their exploration of “modern” Haitian Creole poetic forms and their reflections on the past and present state of Haitian poetry.
Sunday, 2:00 P.M. RÉFORMES: CARIBBEAN WOMEN ON HISTORY, MYSTERY AND INSPIRATION. With Mimerose Beaubrun, Myriam J.A. Chancy, Gessica Généus, Gisèle Pineau. Moderator: Nancy T. Férère. (In French)
Les auteures de cette table-ronde ont publié des textes qui forcent le lecteur à repenser la femme Caribéenne, tant sur le plan historique que sur le plan spirituel. Elles présentent leurs idées sur comment créer un nouveau guide pour la femme moderne des Caraïbes.
Authors on this panel have produced works that force the reader to re-contextualize their perceptions of Caribbean women, both historically and spiritually, and present their ideas on developing a new toolkit for the modern Caribbean woman.
Sunday, 3:30 P.M. KOZE MANDE CHÈZ: CONVERSATIONS ON CONTEMPORARY HAITIAN LITERATURE. With Edwidge Danticat, Yanick Lahens, Gary Victor. Moderator: Michèle Pierre-Louis. (In Kreyòl Ayisyen)
Yon ekip gwo otè ayisyen pwal diskite sa k ap pase sèjousi nan monn literatè Ayiti. Vin asiste bèl deba sa a, kote otè diferan jenerasyon pwal prezante pèspektiv yo opwendevi lengwistik ak estil.
The current state of contemporary Haitian literature is discussed among these literary luminaries. Join the panel for a meaningful discussion of Haiti’s literature from each author’s generational, linguistic and stylistic perspective.
Sunday, 5:00 P.M. TI KOZE SOU VODOU: VODOU EXPLORATIONS. With Mimerose Beaubrun (Manzè), Jerry M. Gilles, Frantz “Kiki” Wainwright. Moderators: Gérard A. Férère, Ingrid Llera. (In Kreyòl Ayisyen)
Vodou (sou divès fòm li genyen) se rasin kiltirèl peyi Afrik Delwès. Plizyè gwo otè ak entelektyèl kontanporen, pwal pale sou diferan aspè Vodou genyen, e yo pwal ofri piblik la divès pèspektiv sou sijè enteresan sa a.
Vodou (in its various forms) is an integral cornerstone of West African roots culture. Contemporary authors and scholars will explore different facets of Vodou, offering fresh and diverse perspectives on the subject.
ReadCaribbean programs created in partnership with Sosyete Koukouy, Bocas Literary Festival, and ReadJamaica, with the support of Knight Foundation.
ReadCaribbean se yon pwogram ki fèt grasa yon tèt ansanm avèk Sosyete Koukouy, Festival Literè Bocas, e ReadJamaica. Pwogram nan jwenn soutyen nan men Knight Foundation e Green Family Foundation.
