Calypso, Creole & Cou-Cou: Celebrating Afro-Caribbean Literature

The Library features a variety of displays on different literary styles, cultures, authors and seasonal themes.
For the month of February in honor of Black History Month we are featuring Afro-Caribbean literature.


Elin O'Hara-Gonya, who put together this display explains:
"Afro-Caribbean literature has its roots in the story-telling traditions brought by African slaves to the
Caribbean as a result of the slave trade. This oral tradition has evolved into a literary tradition heavily influenced by contemporary black social themes, jazz rhythms, Native American and African mythology, and colonialism. Authors frequently explore the colonial legacy and its effects on Caribbean identity, language and ethnicity in their works."

"The Focus On collection features works by renowned Afro-Caribbean authors such as Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua), Edwidge Danticat (Haiti), Austin Clarke (Barbados), C.L.R. James (Trinidad and Tobago) and Dany LaFerriere (Haiti). Featured poet and playwright Derek Walcott (St. Lucia) won the Novel Prize for Literature in 1992."

"The exhibit and Focus On collection place particular emphasis on the works of Haitian authors in order to acknowledge the devastation that the earthquake has wrought on the Haitian artistic community."