Hey Readers!
The month of June is celebrated as Caribbean Heritage Month where we encourage people to Read Caribbean. This initiative was started to create awareness for Caribbean Literature, Caribbean Authors, and Authors from Caribbean Heritage because our voice is so uniquely our own. The aim of Read Caribbean month is to encourage persons to:
- Read books by Caribbean Nationals/ persons of Caribbean heritage
- Read books about the Caribbean
- Read books set in the Caribbean
As a conscientious author, I like to practice what I preach. I read much more than I write, and I think it’s important to showcase and review other Caribbean books in addition to promoting my own work. Previous blogs on my website www.kristinesimelda.com review books and anthologies written by authors from Dominica as well as other Caribbean Islands. Most of these stories overflow with the sense of magical realism which pervades the landscape and the characters. Reviews are very important to authors, so I hope you will find time this summer to read and recommend.
From The Nature Island: Writers of Dominica, Alick Lazare; Distant Voices, Irving Andre; Montage Domnik, Waitukubuli Writers; The Flying Crapaud, TFC Collective; Hug Me, Delroy N. Williams; ABiYA, Celia A. Sorhaindo; Salty Tales, Sharon Dorival. And don’t forget to read and review A Face in the River, River of Fire, Back to the River, Nobody Owns the Rainbow, Rise Up, Sista, Rainforest Redemption, and Blessings on Blessings, by me, Kristine Simelda.
From the Wider Caribbean: Disaster Matters, House of Nehesi Publishers, 2022; River Sing Me Home, Eleanor Shearer; What Start a Bad Mornin, Carol Mitchell; How to Say Babylon, Safiya Sinclair; Augustown, Kei Miller; Book of Little Axe, Lauren Francis-Sharma; A Tall History of Sugar, Crudella Forbes; Love After Love, Ingrid Persaud; The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey; Brown Girl in the Ring, Nalo Hopkinson; Daylight Come, Diana McCaulay; Tea by the Sea, Donna Hemans; The Bread the Devil Knead, Lisa Allen-Agostino; The God of Good Looks, Breanne McIvor.
According to the Book of Cinz blog, here is a list of 2024 Read Caribbean books to choose from, and Here are some book clubs to join that Read Caribbean.
Onward,
KS
Kristine Simelda 