Stage Right, Stage Left

ArtsEtc’s First Annual Independence Reading List Now Out

2011-11-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

Read any good Barbadian books lately? At the launch of Karen Lord’s Redemption in Indigo last year at Ocean Spray Apartments, a woman Linda and I were chatting with was interested in reading more books by

October Tea Reading—nicely brewed!

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

THERE was such a great vibe at Pelican Village on Saturday.Writers Ink held its October Tea Reading there at the Barbados Arts Council gallery and you really do get a warm, fuzzy glow surrounded by all that art on the walls and the shared passion for writing. The gallery is proving an ideal space and the fast growing turnout means Writers Ink is going to need more chairs.Featured readers

Wor(l)dbuilding at Barbados’ AnimeKon 2011

2011-07-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Fans of AnimeKon are very serious about their science fiction. This dude with the huge and heavy sword is based on the character "Cloud" from the animated feature/video game Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children.From left: Robert Sandiford, Karen Lord and Tobias Buckell shared their experiences of creating Fantasy in a Caribbean setting with a large audience and moderator Andre Harewood (extreme

Yvonne Weekes - Green Reader, bridging worlds

2011-06-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Yvonne's poem doubles as her Green Statement, doubles as a prayer...Untitled If the life-giving gullies of Barbados were to run bloodAnd Broad Street sank under the weight of sanguine watersAnd there was no Bop or Baygon to blow upeither the mosquito or fill our lungs- Fool: everyone knows a mosquito has no lungsWould we then regret the casual discard of plastic lipstick butts into empty cane

Margaret D. Gill - Green Reader...

2011-06-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

...The Poem Says It AllThe poem extract below is both my green statement and impact statement. In essence, we all got responsibility, but some more than others.“Across from Victoria Harbour Hong Kong” IVictoria HarbourSo much beautyAnd so much blue.How many dreamsOf a technic tomorrow touch?So the silver runningOf cool of air coOr the camera’ s true monstrosity.Cool images you cell fromCell to

Allison Cadogan - Green Reader, in pursuit of happiness

2011-06-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Green StatementAn emphasis on the role that the environment plays on attitudes is a common thread throughout my work. Even though “ green” is an environmentalist concept, based on healthy, sustainable practices for physically preserving the earth, I believe that our everyday happiness has roots in our physical surroundings, and I communicate this in all of my work. A healthy environment means a

Martina Pilé - Green Reader, Calabash Woman

2011-06-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

Artist's StatementThis event definitely gives me a chance to step out of my comfort zone but still talk about calabashes, the things we use in our everyday life that represent our cultural identity. My love for calabashes is something that is tightly intertwined with my Caribbean experience... Every year, I catch "calabash fever" which translates in an urge to work with them.About the

Adrian...Green Reader, Green Giant

2011-06-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Adrian Green - Artist's Statement:The artist goes green not only championing environmental causes and sustainable practices, but by producing work intended to stimulate his audience to sustainable modes of thought, attitudes and values.excerpt from “We the Dirt” We are the dirtDivine earthWe are the trampled uponSampled and drawn from the direction of the dawnTo build empires on which the sun was

Winston Farrell: Green Reader, Earth Spirit

2011-06-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Artist's Green Statement"Green is not only my favourite colour -- it also represents a coded consciousness of my environment...my world. This is a relationship that started with a visit to Canada back in the early 90s, when I was introduced to the idea of recycling, the concept of conservation and the need to take greater care of our planet. It further inspired my second album of dub poetry, S."

Green Readings 2011...Just lighting up our corner of the world

2011-06-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, as an artist, it can be easy to get bogged down in what we do. Forgetting why we do what we do. Those reasons can be myriad and complex, but for those of us inspired by our environment (and all it embraces) and try to impact positively upon it through art, it can be good to take a deep examining breath. That's why this year, ArtsEtc has chosen the theme: "Light up your corner of the

Frank Birbalsingh's review of Thomas Armstrong's Of Water and Rock

2011-03-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

Thomas Armstrong, Of Water and Rock, Montreal, DC Books, 2010, pp.330. ISBN 978-1-897190-60-9. / Reviewer: Frank Birbalsingh, Indo-Caribbean World (2011)Whatever his attraction to Barbados, it seems strange that a bright, sun-filled Caribbean island should provide the setting for distinctly Gothic undertones in Armstrong’s story of a young Canadian, Edward Hamblin who, without any previous

Of Water and Rock: The launch, Tuesday March 8 at the University

2011-03-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

ArtsEtc will be hosting the Barbados launch of Thomas Armstrong’s award-winning novel, Of Water and Rock. The launch is part of a busy 2011 season for ArtsEtc which sees it hosting Green Readings for the fourth consecutive year (stay tuned for more news of that), and pursuing a range of independent publishing and creative projects.We are particularly proud and excited to be associated with

Booklovers walk the talk on October 2

2010-09-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

THE Barbados Association of Reading (BAR) is staging a WALK FOR LITERACY on Saturday, October 2. The start time is 7:30 a.m. outside the National Library in Independence Square, Bridgetown, and the walk route takes participants through Nelson Street, Bayville and Beckles Road, ending with breakfast, readings and games on Browne's Beach. The association has come up with the fun idea of inviting

Who would YOU come dressed as?

2010-09-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

September is the month of Literacy Awareness; October is Education Month. ArtsEtc marks both with a series of blogs on literature and literacy, beginning with a fun idea from the Barbados Association of Reading....COME dressed as a character from your favourite storybook or novel!The invitation from the Barbados Association of Reading (BAR) regarding its Walk for Literacy, now being held on

Something is happening with the Bajan novel...

2010-09-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

ArtsEtc co-editor Robert Edison Sandiford and Redemption in Indigo author Karen Lord at her book launch in August. (Launch photograph courtesy Days Books.)OVER the last decade in Barbados, we’ve seen the publication of novels by Thomas Armstrong, Nicole Blades, Austin Clarke, Alvin Cummins, Nailah Folami Imojah, Margaret Knight, Glenville Lovell, Arnold Ward, to name a few of our more familiar

“...don’ care where ya come from...” — This Thursday at the Museum

2010-07-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Read-IN! is the NCF’s monthly, parish-by-parish spotlight for writers. Every Crop-Over it kicks up a notch and transforms into an “Event”—one of very few enabling literary artists to showcase nationally in front of a larger, wider audience. Last year, the NCF took things a step further. There was a soiree-Cohobblopot type ambiance. There was art and craft and food and

2010-06-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

When I need to escape,I always think of lyingflat on my stomachnear the edge of thecliff at River Bay inSt Lucy. There is no noise there (but the waves’), and the viewand experience of theocean spray are beyond words. It is perfection. I’ve lost the courage to physically return there now, but that mental journey to the solace and peace it once provided me is almost as gratifying.

2010-06-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

As a boy growing up in Six Men’s, I used to enjoy taking in the view of sunsets from the location that is now being destroyed to make way for the rich and famous. Of course, I am speaking about the new marina under construction just south of Six Men’s. This spot has remained my green spot for all these years ... the real memories will always live on in my heart as I watch the daily

2010-06-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

My green space ... my green oasis looks blue until it is evening and then, just when the birds go in it startles softly, revealing new beauty and thoughts go quiet then.

2010-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

One way of relating to the environment is to understand it as a relationship between what a person sees and what a person hears...My recent poem “Barbados Night” started with the close observation of the way that the waves break at Batts Rock Beach day and night. This led me to think of the nearby urban features of Bridgetown as I sat in a café there one evening. What was I seeing? What sounds

2010-06-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Frank Collymore wrote, “I shall always be remembering the sea,” a line that resonates with me, for the sea (not the beach!) is where I go for regular renewal. ... I am also much influenced by the other elements—earth, air, fire. And by concrete.

2010-06-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

My oasisis actuallyan area ofrugged rock,lush greeneryand bushwhich I passwhen I go onmy frequentmorning jogs.This scenetakes me backto boyhooddays when Ioften traversedsuch areas. Italways instillsa sense ofpeace andtranquilityin me.

Green Readings 2010 — Where's your oasis?

2010-06-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

ArtsEtc asked six writers to reveal their oasis, to share with us how the Barbadian environment influences and inspires them. Tell us about your Green spot, we said.Well, Saturday, June 13, at the Boardwalk, Hastings, with the waves crashing behind them, Philip Nanton, Dorhonda Smith and Nailah Imoja (l-r above) not only shared, but startled and seduced the audience with their responses. As well

Speightstown—the place to be! (Er, but bring your credit card...)

2010-03-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

ENTER. Stage Right:Let me first say, I am thrilled to see my beautiful Speightstown receiving a long deserved facelift. I went to an urban school and constantly heard my peers make fun of how far and boring Speightstown is. Although I tried to defend my quaint hometown, I knew in my gut it was nothing compared to Barbados’ other, more lively and attractive towns. But, I knew deep down inside that

Haiku for a New Year...

2010-01-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

Carolle Bourne is anaward-winning poet andauthor of Saraband:The Incomplete Worksof Caroline Ravenspeare.• To read more haiku, or to submit your own, visit the ArtsEtc Haiku Gallery.

A reshaping of shadows

2010-01-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

SAMBO. Nigger. Nig-nog. Golliwog. These epithets, and others, cast long shadows over my childhood and I have kept safe and unsafe distances from them ever since.But in her latest collection of poetry, Ship Shape (Peepal Tree, 2008), Dorothea Smartt forces a bridging of distances by boldly reimagining the story behind one of those names. And if ArtsEtc offered prizes for forceful bridging and bold

L’Ouverture, in Dreams

2010-01-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

I glimpse but don’t fully graspthe reason for the hauntingor why David’s chanting shangosin and out my head. UnsungJacobins extend their reachinto my exile, across darkunending chapters they griptight. I turn the news, again,flick through, pickthrough rubble spanning agesand stumble upon beauty,like a fortress, facing me;The features akin to mine,that might have been (andmight have been) butfor

And the winners are...

2010-01-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

ArtsEtc extends hot congrats to the winners of the 2009 Frank Collymore Literary Endowment. The awards ceremony was held at the Grand Salle, Central Bank in Bridgetown on Saturday, January 9, 2010.L-r: Ag. Chair of the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Committee, Boo Rudder, Governor of the Central Bank Mr. DeLisle Worrell, recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award, Lance Bannister, first

How to get chucked out of an art gallery – musings on a packed cultural weekend

2010-01-16T03:01:00.000-08:00

EVERY once in a while, you get a crazy weekend. There's ink scrawled all over Saturday and Sunday on your desk calendar, a spaghetti junction of arrows, venues and times. You think, ‘Hell, if it looks that messy on paper, what's it's gonna be like for real?’ This January, without even going anywhere near the Barbados Jazz Festival or the Barbados Music Awards, I found out.Enter. Stage right.