Op donderdag 27 mei 2021 ondertekenden Rita Rahman, voorzitter van de Werkgroep Caraïbische Letteren, en... Lees verder →
Posts tagged with: Trinidad and Tobago
“We are on the verge of listening”
Earl Lovelace talks to B.C. Pires about his long-awaited new novel Is Just a Movie, and acknowledging the importance of rebellion
Born in Toco, in north-east Trinidad, in 1935, Earl Lovelace is the author of the novels While Gods Are Falling (1965), The Schoolmaster (1968), The Dragon Can’t Dance (1979), The Wine of Astonishment (1983), and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize–winning Salt (1997), as well as volumes of short fiction, plays, and essays. His long-awaited sixth novel, Is Just a Movie, was published in early 2011. The scholar Funso Aiyejina suggests that Lovelace’s books “speak of, to, and for those who are not usually the subjects in their own history . . . his vision, no matter how unique, echoes, clarifies, problematises, and extends folk preoccupations, wisdom, and philosophy.”
Soon after the launch of Is Just a Movie, Lovelace spoke to B.C. Pires over lunch about his fiction’s exploration of the nature, causes, and effects of rebellion, and the state of contemporary Trinidad.
•
B.C. Pires: When you refer to your new book, do you shorten the title to, say, Movie? Or is it always Is Just a Movie?
Earl Lovelace: Is Just a Movie. Is very difficult to shorten the title.
BC: But you might say Dragon for The Dragon Can’t Dance.
EL: I realise that. You could talk about Wine, Dragon, Schoolmaster, and so on, but this one, Is Just a Movie, just happened that way. I was looking for a long time for another title, and many possible ones came up, but eventually I thought Is Just a Movie would be useful.
[Lees hier verder in The Caribbean Review of Books]
Premiérefeest Marley in Kriterion
Op donderdag 10 mei gaat Kevin Macdonald’s langverwachte documentaire Marley in première in Kriterion in Amsterdam. Rootical Vibrations en Yard Vibes zijn erbij voor het premièrefeest op vrijdag 11 mei! Kom ook eten, drinken, relaxen, dansen en dominoën in Jamaicaanse stijl – en natuurlijk film kijken. Marley draait deze vrijdag zelfs twee keer, een keer in de namiddag (om ca. 16.45 uur) en een keer in de vroege avond (om ca. 19.30 uur). Vanaf 18.00 uur tot laat kun je tevens genieten van Rose’s Jamaican soulfood (als diner of snack). En uiteraard gaan we tot in de late uurtjes door met een reggae afterparty inclusief live optreden en verschillende sound systems.
Datum: vrijdag 11 mei 2012
Tijd: 16.45-03.00 uur
Eten: Jamaicaanse soulfood van Planet Rose (www.planetrose.info) vanaf 18.00 uur tot laat
Film: Marley (eerste vertoning rond 16.45 uur, tweede vertoning met inleiding rond 19.30 uur)
Live optreden: Mama Franko rond 22.00 uur
Sound Systems: Sangue Bom, Radical HI-FI, Wazari Soundsystem, Boston Strip Soundsystem en Drunken Lion Soundsystem (van 23.00-03.00 uur)
Extra: Foto-expositie Trinidad & Tobago Carnival van Kerron Riley (http://kerronriley.me/) Locatie: Kriterion (Roetersstraat 170, Amsterdam Tickets: film = €8,50 (€7,50 met korting) |
afterparty = gratis
Reserveringen: 020 623 17 08 of via www.belbios.nl RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/caribbeancreativity
Dit evenement wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door Caribbean Creativity, Each One Teach One, Sound System Culture en ZAM Magazine.
Veroordeling politie-inval Trinidadiaanse krant
door Ivan Cairo
Paramaribo – Verschillende journalistenorganisaties in de regio hebben gisteren met klem de politie-inval en huiszoeking bij de Trinidadiaanse krant Newsday en thuis bij één van haar journalisten scherp veroordeeld.
Ook de voorzitter van de Surinaamse Vereniging van Journalisten (SVJ), Wilfred Leeuwin, verwerpt de actie. Donderdag drongen zeventien politieagenten met een huiszoekingsbevel in handen de redactie van Newsday binnen op zoek naar documenten en informatie om de identiteit te achterhalen van een bron, die confidentiële informatie over de Integriteitcommissie van het land had doorgespeeld.
Ruzie
Op basis van de verkregen informatie publiceerde de krant vorig jaar december over een ruzie in de commissie tussen voorzitter Ken Gordon en waarnemend voorzitter Gladys Gafoor. Volgens Gordon zou de geheimhoudingsplicht van de commissie zijn geschonden, daar vertrouwelijke informatie in het gewraakte artikel was verwerkt. Ook bij Andre Bagoo, de journalist die het artikel heeft geschreven, deed de politie een inval. Hij had eerder een schriftelijk verzoek van commissievoorzitter Gordon om zijn bron prijs te geven, naast zich neergelegd. Behalve documenten zijn ook computers, cellulairs, harde schijven en mobiele informatiedragers in beslag genomen.
Schending
“Dit is één van de ergste vormen van schending van persvrijheid die je als het ware zonder bij na te denken veroordeelt en verwerpt. Ook al zou de krant een bron hebben gebruikt waarbij de drie grensissues van persvrijheid zijn overtreden, dan nog is er tussen de vrije pers en de rest van de gemeenschap maar één instantie die daarover oordeelt en dat is de rechter”, stelt Leeuwin tegenover de Ware Tijd. “Het is typisch hoe weinig of laag het democratisch gehalte is bij overheden. In hun drang naar zelfbehoud en selfprotection schromen zij er niet voor het bekende artikel negentien van de Internationale verklaring van de rechten van de mens en het Bupo-verdrag te schenden”, voegt hij er aan toe.
Precedent
Behalve de Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) en de Association of Caribbean Mediaworkers (ACM) heeft intussen ook de Guyana Press Association (GPA) de inval met klem afgekeurd. De GPA zet met “grote verontwaardiging en ongeloof” kennis te hebben genomen van de politieactie dat kennelijk als doel had, druk te zetten op de krant en één van haar journalisten om een bron van een onlangs gepubliceerd artikel aan te geven. Mediahuizen moeten vrijelijk kunnen opereren in een atmosfeer die gevrijwaard is van vrees en intimidatie door staatsorganen zoals de politie. Bij de Trinidadiaanse regering wordt er op aangedrongen een diepgaand onderzoek in te stellen naar dit incident. Wat nog verontrustender is, zegt GPA, is dat de politie ook een inval deed thuis bij de journalist en computers en persoonlijke spullen zijn meegenomen. De hoop wordt uitgesproken, dat deze politieactie geen precedent is die wordt overgenomen door andere landen in het Caribisch gebied.
Geen respect
Volgens Leeuwin “moeten we alert zijn in Suriname” dat dit politieoptreden niet overwaait. “Ik blijf erbij dat in Suriname we geen fysiek geweld hebben tegen journalisten, maar het subtiel en verbaal geweld neemt jammer genoeg wel toe. Newsday staat vierkant achter haar redactielid. “Het is fundamenteel dat een journalist zijn informatiebronnen beschermt. Zonder deze bescherming wordt zijn of haar werk enorm bemoeilijkt”, zegt Newsday. Volgens de krant kan op geen enkele wijze worden hard gemaakt dat inbreuk is gepleegd op de Integrity in Public Life Act. Op 29 december vorig jaar had de politie ook al een inval gepleegd bij de redactie van het TV-station TV6, wat ook scherp is veroordeeld. Met deze invallen toont de politie dat ze geen respect heeft voor de Trinidadiaanse grondwet waar ze op gezworen heeft deze te zullen verdedigen. De grondwet garandeert persvrijheid, zegt MATT, de Trinidadiaanse journalistenorganisatie.
In haar verklaring stelt de Associatie van Caribische Mediawerkers, dat de politieacties rieken naar intimidatie en geïnterpreteerd kunnen worden als een poging om inspanningen van de media om zaken van openbaar belang tot de bodem uit te zoeken, in de kiem te smoren. De regering is opgeroepen een standpunt kenbaar te maken over het incident.
[uit de Ware Tijd, 11/02/2012]
De onzichtbaarheid van vrouwen in de Caraibische geschiedschrijving
Bridget Brereton, professor in geschiedenis aan de University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad, zal vrijdagavond een lezing over vrouwengeschiedenis in het Caribische gebied. Ze zal de onzichtbaarheid van vrouwen in de traditionele geschiedschrijving bespreken en verklaren hoe en waarom dit is veranderd. Aan de orde zal komen het verschil tussen vrouwen- en gendergeschiedenis. De inleider zal laten zien hoe deze benaderingen zijn toegepast in de historiografie van het Caribische gebied.
read on…Celebrate ‘Indian arrival’ or ‘Indian deliverance’? (3 en slot)
[de onderstaande passage werd niet opgenomen in het artikel van prof. Chaman Lal in The Guardian dat we hier eerder overnamen]
by Chaman Lal
In fact the day to celebrate in these countries is 1st January uniformly as ‘Deliverance Day’, but what they celebrate is not their deliverance, but their semi slavery status. And by pomp of word ‘Arrival’, they unwittingly give signs of the colonial mindset, as only colonialists had this pleasure of celebrating arrival in colonies, like that of Columbus, Vasco de Gama kind of Spanish colonialists, who became instruments of future colonial conquers in the world of Africa, Asia and smaller countries of Latin/South America, Caribbean! Indians by their arrivals in these countries had got only sufferings for themselves and prosperity for their masters, like ex black slaves suffered.
read on…Celebrate ‘Indian arrival’ or ‘Indian deliverance’? (2)
by Chaman Lal
The second largest contingent of Indian indentured labour went to now called Guyana from 1838 to 1916. First ship Hesperus with Indian labour arrived in Demerara on May 5, 1838 and total of 238,909 Indians arrived in ships. Trinidad & Tobago was the third country to receive large numbers of Indian labour from May 30, 1845 onwards and here 147,596 Indians came as per Sat Balkaran Singh. First ship to arrive in Trinidad was Fatel Razack from Calcutta, a total of 154 ships undertook 320 voyages from Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, to bring Indian indentured labour up to 1917. Out of these only 20 per cent or so, went back to India after indentured system was abolished.
read on…Celebrate ‘Indian arrival’ or ‘Indian deliverance’? (1)
by Chaman Lal
While attending some programmes on August 1, 2011, and around, in connection with ‘Emancipation Day’ celebrations, which came this year with the declaration of year 2011 by UNO, as ‘year of the African Descent people’, I remembered participating in various functions/seminars on the occasion of ‘Indian Arrival Day’ in Trinidad & Tobago on and around May 30, 2011. In one of the international conferences on the theme of ‘South Asian Diaspora’ organised to mark the occasion at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, during May 31—June 4, 2011, I presented a paper also on V S Naipaul.
read on…Lovin’ the drama
by Roslyn Carrington
“I remember Sugar Cane Arrows,” Pauline Mark muses. “No Boundaries. Calabash Alley. Believe it or not, I remember all these things.” The young actress must have been crawling around in front of the TV then, but consciously or subconsciously, she was caught in the sticky web of drama, from which she never wants to escape. “I grew up in a very creative family, although they didn’t acknowledge it. My grandfather was a traditional Carnival minstrel and my uncle is a wire bender. My mother was a seamstress and my father was a tailor, so it was always around me.” Sadly, their influence had little time to soak in, as Mark lost both her parents in early childhood. An aunt who cared for Mark focused on developing her studies. Her pleas for dance and drama classes were met with the practical, realistic advice that in Trinidad, careers in the arts were few, far between, and, most importantly, badly paid. But Mark’s dream didn’t die. “I wasn’t interested in anything else.”
When she was 20, she began secretly taking acting lessons at the San Fernando Theatre Workshop. It was a great experience being welcomed by people who shared her passion and intensity. She took part in her first few dramatic presentations, then went on to do a full degree course at UWI in Carnival Arts with a minor in Gender Studies, including components such as art administration, events management, history of Carnival and Caribbean culture. After this, Mark didn’t only have the love and determination for her craft, but the knowledge and certification to back it up. But the sweet thing about Carnival is that it isn’t confined to paper; Mark’s experiences with the festival are less about academics and more about performance. “I hold the NCBA Baby Doll title for 2010 and 2011,” she says proudly. “I always play Baby Doll. It’s a character that’s gendered, and you can approach it from a different perspective every time.”
Not the type to simply show up in a frilly dress with an old dolly under her arm, she approaches her character with thoughtfulness and respect. “In 2010 my theme was ‘HIV Baby’. My character was a former prostitute with an infected baby. I’ve also had a baby who was all colours of the rainbow, representing Trinidad.” The nuances of her characters show up in her dramatically delivered monologues. Mark’s love for the big stage, namely the streets of Port-of-Spain, doesn’t diminish how she feels about the small stage of local theatre and the even smaller eye of the film camera. “I prefer the screen. The kind of acting I’m really good at is better for the screen; it’s more honest. More subtle.”
She thinks there is real potential for furthering her career right here. “Contrary to popular belief, a local film industry does exist.” She’s won herself screen time in T&T films such as Cool Boys, Between Friends, and Shhushed. Her familiar face also appears in a few local TV ads.
But the jewel in her crown is without doubt her supporting role in the HIV-Aids docu-drama, Positive and Pregnant. It was her HIV Baby monologue that won her the role. The film aired recently at the New York International Independent Film Festival, where people could not believe that such a high-quality piece could have come out of T&T. “The story line, acting, editing, technical work are all on point,” she says proudly. The film is due to move on to other festivals in Los Angeles and Zanzibar.” When she isn’t performing, Mark works as a cultural programme co-ordinator for the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism. Here, she supports other artists seeking grants and assistance in making their cultural endeavours become a reality. But her big dream is for corporate entities to step forward and bring local film up to the level it deserves.
Mark is currently seeking support for a film of her own, but has butted into a few walls. A huge problem is the unwillingness of local stations and sponsors to support local content, believing that nobody would watch it. “There’s this misconception that locals don’t want to see themselves on film. That’s not true. Trinis are narcissists. We want to see familiar people and places. And we like to criticise. So people will tune in.” Promises are often made, she laments, but they fall through for a lack of funds. She also thinks that it’s vital for parents to support children who are interested in the arts. “That support is rare. But I think it’s a really good idea, and can uplift young people.” As for her own career, she doesn’t dream of the red carpet, but of simply building a solid, quality body of work. “I’m interested in being an actress, not in being famous. I’m committed to my craft and want to be respected for it.”
[from Guardian Media]
Trinidad’s French Legacy
Trinidad’s French Legacy, by Anthony de Verteuil, C.S.Sp., a typically spirited “series of sketches” of Trinidadian French Creole culture, by one of the Caribbean’s most tireless and readable social historians. Not a definitive survey — which de Verteuil explains “would involve several volumes and did not appeal to me” — it rather collects biographical essays on eleven key historical figures such as the historian Gustave Borde, the ornithologist Antoine Leotaud, the journalist Philip Rostant, and the artist Michael-Jean Cazabon, with chapters on Catholicism and Carnival for good measure. Drawing both on Trinidad’s public archives and various collections of family papers, the volume is replete with names, dates, anecdotes, and family trees, plus old photographs, maps, and drawings — and frequent injections of the author’s bone-dry wit.
Litho Press, ISBN 978-976-95299-0-8, 380 pp
[from Caribbean Book Review]
Moving Right Along
Moving Right Along: Caribbean Stories in Honour of John Cropper, ed. Funso Aiyejina with Judy Stone, an anthology of short fiction by participants in the Cropper Foundation Writers’ Workshop in Trinidad, dedicated to its co-founder, the late John Cropper. Since its launch in 2000, the workshop has made a space for emerging writers from across the Caribbean to practise their craft, share their work with each other, and learn from distinguished mentors. Moving Right Along collects pieces by twenty Cropper alumni, including subsequent prizewinners like Kei Miller and Tiphanie Yanique. Their subjects and styles are as various as their home territories, and this volume is an apt tribute to an organisation that has already played a crucial role in stimulating contemporary Caribbean letters.
Moving Right Along: Caribbean Stories in Honour of John Cropper, ed. Funso Aiyejina with Judy Stone (Lexicon Trinidad, ISBN 978-976-631-058-5, 135 pp)
[from Caribbean Review of Books]
Perception’s Knife
Perception’s Knife, by Sheilah Solomon is a collection of poems by a Jamaican long resident in Trinidad, known for her civic activism. These gentle meditations on friendship, love, and memory suggest a thoughtful, broad-minded sensibility. Occasionally sentimental, their tone is more often wry; they have an eye for the world’s sharp peculiarities:
Our little sight is bounded by our genes . . .
So too with sound.
Whales sing too low
for us; dogs
hear too high.
Perception’s Knife, by Sheilah Solomon. Self-published, 62 pp.
[from Caribbean Review of Books]
Gods in the details
by Keith Smith
Any artist who succeeds in opening up aspects of a culture to a foreign audience can count it as a job well done. When, however, that artist succeeds in opening up aspects of a culture to its own people, then the job becomes all the more remarkable. This is precisely what German photographer Stefan Falke has done with his resplendent book Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad. Trinbagonians, having read this book, are likely never to look at these walking, dancing towers in quite the same way again.
[further reding, click here]
Moko Jumbies: The Dancing Spirits of Trinidad, photographs by Stefan Falke, preface by Geoffrey Holder, introduction by Earl Lovelace (Pointed Leaf Press, ISBN 0-9727661-3-8, 216 pp)
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
