Nearly two hundred years ago the radical critic William Hazlitt began an essay writing, “I cannot understand the rage manifested by the greater part of the world for reading New Books.” Even back then he reports on the phenomenon of a publishing rat-race, the narrow span of time a new book has to enter the lottery of catching the reading public’s attention before it is crowded out by the demand for newer novelty.
Are we in for a Trini hat-trick? UK-based T&T poet Roger Robinson's double award-winning collection A Portable Paradise is in the running for the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry.
Bernardine Evaristo appeared on Richard and Judy recently, where she recommended the latest books by Jacob Ross, and Monique Roffey's The Mermaid of Black Conch. Check out the photos on our Facebook page (we will have a transcript landing later).
British-Trinidadian poet Roger Robinson has won the RSL Ondaatje Prize for his collection A Portable Paradise. The £10,000 prize, organised by the Royal Society of Literature, rewards fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the spirit of a place.
Raymond Ramcharitar interviews himself about his new book, Modern, Age, &c.
Q: Ok, let’s get straight to the knotty plot:
You’ve stolen this self-interview thing from Walcott?
A: Dear fellow, in short, yes, but that’s inane.
Walcott interviewed himself, because it would be a drain
Since its establishment in 1985, Peepal Tree Press has been committed to publishing major works of Caribbean and Black British writing. Abram Foley at The Literary Platform speaks to founder and director Jeremy Poynting about publishing, political hopes, and telling the truth.
Read the article in full at The Literary Platform.
Greetings from isolation. Like all people in the at-risk over-70s (Jeremy), I am working from home, as is all the rest of the Peepal Tree team, full-time and part-time.
Our first concern is that our staff, authors and readers are all safe and finding some space for creativity and hope.
Jeremy Poynting and Kenneth Ramchand write tributes to Cecil Gray, author of The Woolgatherer.
The first Russian translations from Jubilation! have been published in Articulation magazine.
The autors translated for this issue are: Kei Miller, Evan Jones, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, Earl McKenzie, Marcia Douglas Rootsword Woman, Shara McCallum and Kwame Dawes.
Additional translations will appear in forthcoming issues, and the translator, Мария Малиновская (Maria Malinovskaya), will be attending the European Poetry Festival.
Entries can now be made to the 2020 SI Leeds Literary Prize, a trail-blazing award for new writing by black and Asian women.
