Reads Carnival-related performances in relationship to the colonial and national histories of the circulation of Indian and black women's bodies in Trinidad and Tobago, asking what is at stake in these occupations of genre, form, and performative presence in the latest global scenes of late capitalism (where image and sound, as cultural productions, are always in circulation beyond the scope of the nation, and their own "original" referents).
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
346 p., Ranging from the time of slavery and indentureship, to national independence in 1962 and the present day, this book shows how gender inequalities have been perpetuated for the benefit of exploitative systems from slavery to the present day. The book explores women's roles and activities both in colonial ideology and in reality.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
191 p, "[E]xplores the articulation of diasporic consciousness in two domains of post-colonial diaspora discourse: cultural critical theory and literature. Examined in the domain of cultural critical theory is a corpus of writings produced by Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, Kobena Mercer and Homi Bhabha. The literary texts examined are Buchi Emecheta's Second-Class Citizen, Joan Riley's The Unbelonging, Marlene Nourbese Philip's Harriet's Daughter, and Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine." (author)
Discusses the popular notions of sexuality that lay behind the women's bodily displays during Trinidad Carnival, the iconic Carnival experience in the region, and contrasts these to some Christian notions of the body and sexuality, which see the body ('the flesh') and sexuality, as problematic even sinful.
"Was talking about how we keep our creativity flowing with a group of friends around a kitchen table last winter. Visiting friends from Sri Lanka mentioned that they organise regular readings to encourage themselves to write fresh work and connect with likeminded types. Very ol' skool approach. WRITE ON! was born that nite," says Akhaji Zakiya, the founder, producer and host of the series. "We'll also have an open mic part of the showcase and a panel discussion exploring how we can support Black queer art and culture. We've also commissioned a special spoken word piece, #IAmAnAfrican, by co-host Naomi Abiola to celebrate our achievements," she said. The other cohost of the evening is triple threat Twysted. With a repertoire that is expanding to include short stories and plays about women loving, [Zakiya]'s work has appeared in several publications, including "The Great Black North - Contemporary African Canadian Poetry" (Frontenac, 2013) and "Does Your Mama Know? - An Anthology of Black Lesbian Coming Out Stories" (Red Bone Press, 1997).
