The Signifyin' Woman (Charmaine Valere)

Update on Signifyinguyana's call for fiction & non-fiction writing on Guyana

Thanks for your entries and queries, but like the minibus driver said to the irritable perspiring passenger in the back row, Miss, Ah gon stop pick up when I fine da gyurl I looking for. So settle yuhself and enjoy the ride.

The competition remains open. Please continue to send your queries and submissions to signifyinguyana[at]gmail.com. Thanks for your patience and cooperation.

The woman who first introduced me to fiction

When we were children, "Brenda"  would come in the mornings to help cook and clean. She was the helper, not the maid. At least that’s what my grandmother insisted on calling her--"Brenda the helper." She was also Brenda the storyteller. When we children weren't supposed to be listening, she told stories about who stole the money off the kitchen counter when my grandmother left the room—was a strange looking man who just walk in off the road and tek it just so, and no matter how I try I couldn’t move mistris. Is like me foot dem get pin down.

And then there were the stories she told us children. They didn’t seem to have a point, but we never minded. They were stories about young men and women meeting in school and falling madly in love and then graduating and getting married and living good together. She would change the names, but the stories all followed the same fairytale path: the couple never faced adversities, nothing ever intervened, the setting or tone never changed, and the ending was always predictable. 

The stories' countermoral center was the narrator (Brenda) whose life was full of adversities, children, men (she never married), and who had never attended formal school. Her stories about unhampered love, about attaining a satisfactory level of education (for the time period), and about eternal marital happiness were probably her means of creative escape and maybe even an expression of her hopes for us children. The unchanging moral message of those stories, which was completely different from the way she lived, was my first introduction to fiction . . . those, and the ones she told my grandmother when something or other went missing in the house.

Summer prayer

Dear Father Mother Creator,

First, thanks for keeping me alive for another season of warm weather. I much appreciate the chance to take off the coat and scarves and show off the fat I put on these past few months. Some non-Caribbean people might not like it, but I love the fact that my rear end can still holler look at me in my jeans, and when I put on my swim suit, my marks and rolls make me look like a woman who carried children. Ain't no where I can hide the little characters anyway. They always foot and foot behind me.

Second, Mother Father Creator, see what you can do about the early morning noise next door please. My neighbor...yes, bless his little bald-headed, nice family man self, but he and his lawn mower and hammer seem intent on fuc... (sorry Great one) messing up the start of my day now that the weather warm. I don't want to seem like one of your mean children, Great One, but hide his hammer for a few days at least or I may have to call the City and ask (politely) if somebody could come around and check to see if he has a building permit for whatever the ras.. aam whatever it is he's building there.

Third, and last, Mother Father Creator (I'm keeping it short because I'm not sure you'll be happy with the tone of number two there), help me with this reading load I opened up my big mouth about in the previous post please. You know I love to read, but some of these books over 300 pages long! I ain't saying we women lil long-winded Mother Father Creator, cause I know some men can work their mouths for days on end too. I'm just asking for the energy to get through it, because as you know (the wonderful mind reader that you are), I'm adding one more to the list. I couldn't help it. I'd feel as if I were missing out on something special if I didn't read her. I'm excited about the list and the work, all I ask for Great One is the energy to do it.

Thanks again for the warm weather, Great One.

Amen.

Summer reads: 12 Caribbean women writers

Who or what inspired them to write? What did they write about first? What are they writing about now? Where were they first published? What do they have to say about writing? About the Caribbean? About being women writers? These are some of the questions I'll be thinking about as I read the works of 12 women writers from the Caribbean this Summer and a little beyond. On my list are Jamaica Kincaid, Nalo Hopkinson, Marion Bethel, Michelle Cliff, Cecilia Samartin, Opal Palmer Adisa, Miriam Chancey, Tanya Shirley, Tiphanie Yanique, Elizabeth Nunez, Mahadai Das, and Karen King-Aribisala.

Of course, I'll share with you as I go along, and I hope you'll be encouraged to read them (again if you've already done so) and help me create an on-going discussion of their work.

First up is Antigua's Jamaica Kincaid. I posted an excerpt from her essay "On Seeing England for the First Time" last year when she was chosen to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This time around I'm reading her first collection of stories, At the Bottom of the River.

It's a slim collection (82 pages) consisting of ten stories, many of which had been previously published (individually) in notable places like The New Yorker, and The Paris Review. So in 1983 when the collection was published, Kincaid had already been a published writer for a decade or so. But arguably, a collection gives new meaning to a writer's work. It's in that light that I'm regarding the stories as firsts. More later, but here's a bit from the title piece "At the Bottom of the River":

This, then, is the terrain. The steepest mountains, thickly covered, where huge, sharp rocks might pose the greatest danger and where only the bravest, surest, most deeply arched of human feet will venture, where a large stream might flow, and, flowing perilously, having only a deep ambition to see itself mighty and powerful, bends and curves and dips in many directions, making a welcome and easy path for each idle rill and babbling brook, each trickle of rain fallen on land that lies sloping; and that stream, at last swelled to a great, fast, flowing body of water, falls over a ledge with a roar, a loudness that is more than the opposite of complete silence, then rushes over dry, flat land in imperfect curves--curves as if made by a small boy playfully dragging a toy behind him...

____________

Visit Amazon Prime and Amazon Sellers for new copies of Kincaid's At the Bottom of the River, beginning at just $6.48.

Note: As of July 2010, I've added more Caribbean women writers to the above list.

More on Marlon James's Book of Night Women

Debra Providence over at Writing D gives her take on Marlon James's The Book of Night Women:

I would probably be a very restless soul if I didn’t pen my response to Marlon James’ The Book of Night Women. Reasons for saying this are, firstly, I am really excited about new works and new writers in Caribbean/West Indian literature, and secondly, I have had a rather strong reaction to the 413 page novel. I feel I must write, also, because The Book of Night Women focuses on an area that has been part of my academic/personal interest, the representation of Afro-Caribbean women in literature. [full review here].

____________________

Also, many thanks to Rhonda King and Denise Peroune (of SFI / First Reads) for taking the time to share their views with us in the comments here.

"The Village Ethic": Vision for a journal

In Volume 1, Issue 2 of First Reads, editor I. Rhonda King presents her vision for the journal, which is heavily influenced by her observations of a group of epic village characters: Lyndon ("big man," leader, benefactor), the boys (his followers, workers, contributors), and "crazy man" (the one who helps spread the word, champions causes, acts as benefactor sometimes). Message? It does take a village, but for the task to be well executed, everyone has to know his / her role and perform to the best of his / her ability.

King's vision for the journal also entails keeping "external forces" at bay. Now what does that mean? It seems the following pronouncement on the Caribbean by British thinkers Anthony Payne and Paul Sutton bothers (or bothered) her enough to cause her to put up a few walls around the village she seeks to create:

British thinkers, Anthony Payne and Paul Sutton are saying, "The Commonwealth Caribbean’s current crisis of development is perhaps the gravest it has faced in the post-independence era. It has been generated by the region’s failure to establish for itself a viable role within the wider context of the globalization of the world economy.” And, this they see largely as a consequence of the fact that “from the beginning of the 1980’s onwards the script became one that was largely written elsewhere." [more]

One clear aspect of the "walls" of King's village is that she has resisted soliciting funding from international funding agencies to avoid "having our script written or commandeered by external forces," she says.

From what I've seen so far, "Lyndon and the boys" are doing quite well inside the walls of First Reads' village. See for yourself.

--Read and listen to "Me Vinci Tark," by Esther Edwards:

. . . .

Me ah war Vincentian.

Dis ah fu me country,

So me go tark me Vinci tark,

An nombady na go stop me.

Me ha fu tark me dialeck

Wid people who could understan me,

Cause if me start to put dung big words,

Dem go say me highty-tighty.

. . . . 

 

--Read "Monkey Say Cool Breeze," (short story) by Marlon Bute:

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there lived a pretty Indian lass by the name of Seetha. You should have seen this girl: she wasn’t just pretty, she was an astounding beauty. But, unfortunately, her heart was ugly. She was quite selfish and mean spirited, and was never able to accept the counsel of the elders, or the fact, that her father, a farmer who had moved to Arima  from San Fernando, was really trying his best to put food on the table for her and the 11 other siblings. [more]

--See Anneliese Percy's photo essay "Forgotten":

Browse the site for much more, and then feel free to join me in my "crazy man" role of spreading the word about First Reads. And those of you who are itching to be one of the "boys," and to have your writing acknowledged for publication, why don't you? The guidelines for submission are straightforward enough. And of course you have the option to become a benefactor and support First Reads' electronic infrastructure with a small fee (see details here).

Cheers to I. Rhonda King and her team over at First Reads!

"Woman Tings" with writers, Elizabeth Nunez (T&T), and Tiphanie Yanique (USVI)

Last Tuesday evening, authors Elizabeth Nunez and Tiphanie Yanique read from their latest works--How to Escape From a Leper Colony is Yanique's first, and Anna In-Between is Nunez's seventh novel. It was the third in a series of four literary events (Poets & Passion) sponsored by the Caribbean Cultural Theatre of New York. The two women (age wise) represented two generations of Caribbean women, but what they had to say about their experiences as Caribbean women writers at times sounded surprisingly similar.

No casual pairing...joined by a leper colony

As the story goes, Nunez and Yanique first got to know each other by way of their writing. They both wrote stories set in Chacachacare, a small island off Trinidad's coast that was once home to a leper colony--Nunez wrote hers in Prospero's Daughter (2006), and Yanique's is in the title story of the collection (seen in its entirety here as the 2008 winner of Boston Review's 13th annual short-story contest). Yanique explained that her Leper colony is both a piece of Caribbean history, as well as a metaphor for the ills her stories' characters try to escape. In her research, she encountered Nunez.

The push and pull of Caribbean home

Nunez described the price of emigration as being a huge one--one which results in many significant losses, and one which often ensures no return--but she also laid firm claim to the title "Caribbean writer," and acknowledged the joy of having Prospero's Daughter selected by Trinidad's National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) for their 2010 One Book One Community project.

Yanique on the other hand says she is (and has always been) back and forth between the USVI and other places, and says her writing is based there but is mostly edited outside of the USVI to escape (among other things) the immediate response from relatives and others there. It is a luxury she says she inherited with her American passport.

On "good" writing

When asked to define good writing, Yanique began by acknowledging the subjectivity of it, but then narrowed her definition by the following (pardon my summary, rather than a direct quote): 1) something that draws a visceral reaction (whether a laugh, a cry, or gasp) does not necessarily make good art; 2) good writing tends to have story lines / characters that are fresh, i.e., not drawn from stereotypes; 3) good writing has texture and can be appreciated aesthetically; and 4), basically, good readers can tell the difference between good and bad writing.

Nunez focused her definition of good writing on how she teaches it. She says she teaches her students the beauty of language that transforms, and overall seeks to open them up to have a better intellectual appreciation for the art of writing. She says it takes work to develop and discover the beauties of good writing, but it is teachable.

On the book market

Both writers bemoaned two lamentable truths about the sales side of books: one is that women buy more, but they tend to buy books written by men, and the other is that publishers and numbers often get in the way of good writing. Nunez summed up the situation by declaring, if Toni Morrison was trying to break into the book market today, she would most certainly not be able to compete with the likes of high-selling, in-demand Zane. 

On beginnings and the use of colloquial language...

In response to a related question on whether or not the use of dialect (colloquialisms) affects the marketability of some books, both writers defended the use of such language, describing it as a necessary, authentic ingredient (all the layers of it they use) of the Caribbean-based worlds and characters they create in their writings. And both also said they feel no need to compromise the authenticity of that language in order to sell more books. After all, Yanique added, there's nothing wrong with being an outsider to a text; many of us in the Caribbean grew up reading books with turns-of-phrases and places to which we were outsiders, and that didn't prevent us from appreciating what we read.

As for Caribbean influences, Yanique said the fact that she only really knew of Walcott and Naipaul (she discovered Jamaica Kincaid, a major influence on her writing, much later) didn't deter her dreams to write when she was growing up.

For Nunez, though, the male dominated Caribbean writing scene may have intimidated her, and she attributed much of that to her late start, which is why she is in hurry-up mode, she says.

I'm in some haste to rectify too...

I left the event impressed, but feeling somewhat guilty at having contributed to the condition where male writers get more buyer support than female writers. So to address that, for the Summer (and maybe even a little beyond that, depending on how quickly or slowly it goes around here) I'll be focusing on works by women writers from the Caribbean. I don't have a final list yet, but one's coming shortly. Meanwhile, suggestions are welcome.

Is she or isn't she?

Some say Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan (nominated today by President Obama), is either openly or closeted gay, others say she isn't at all--neither openly or closeted gay. Whether she is or not is arguably not just a matter of private choice, but a matter of national importance. I agree with those who say if she is, she should come out and say. And, I also think she'll be confirmed if she does. That of course doesn't mean she'll make an immediate impact on the state of gay politics and acceptance in America, but her mere presence on the bench of the nation's highest court (as an openly gay person) may have a long-term positive effect on the way the lower courts think / rule on gay rights issues presented before them. 

Meanwhile, Peter dons his rainbow colored robe, and suggests the following...  

I came to a conclusion long ago concerning this debate about same sex marriage; this debate is not so much about rights as it is about the invasion of protected space. I realise what's really the problem. Marriage as it is known through out history is between a man and a woman, this is what we were taught and this is what we have accepted since Noah’s time. I am not one to go in to a tirade on one side or another; I want peace. I have listened to the Christian right and the Christian left, the Liberals and the Conservatives, I hear all the talk, but what I do not hear is what solutions must be put forward to solve this so called problem. I can't say I have all the solutions to this problem but what I do know is I want to at least offer a few.

The proponents of same sex marriage must realise that wanting to be accepted as being equal with a man woman union is all about infringing on protected space, protected by the heterosexual majority. This is not about morals; this is more about do not “tread on me”. New laws are being put in place as we read in many countries, to make same sex unions equal to the man and woman union. This does not sit well with the religious right and the conservatives, does not sit well with people who don’t even go to church. Where then do we strike a balance?

I am prepared to broker a peace deal. Let’s redefine the terms used in the various unions to suit where applicable. I am saying let the man and woman union keep the terms like marriage and divorce, matrimony and alimony, engagement and bride. Let those words stay in the confines of the man woman union. I would like to see a happy resolution to this problem so my proposal is as follows.

The union between a man and a man will be called a Garriage named for all the gay men named Gary, the union between a woman and a woman will be a Harriage named for all the Lesbians named Harriet. A divorce for gay men will be a Hevorce and a Shevorce for Lesbians. Alimony will remain but the spelling will be different. In the case of a Gay union, instead of alimony it will now be Allhemoney. In the case of the women it will now be known as Allshemoney. Now this may look like I am trivialising a serious issue, but on the contrary, I want peace and I am making the first effort to have a compromise.

New words will be made, like Gatrimony and Hatrimony, Gedding and Hedding in place of Wedding. A new way of speaking will emerge. You will know who did what by just listening to the words. I see this as a way to mark clear boundaries between the warring parties, between the man woman union and the same sex union. Let there be no more wars and debates on this issue, each party will now have their names for keeps.

____________

"A New lexicon for Gay Acceptance," contributed by Peter Sam

Uh-oh he's writing about me again! ("All About Mom")

This morning my son presented me with a book he'd written about me. It was an unauthorized biography. I opened it with trembling fingers, and lo and behold he'd told all my secrets... where I was born, how many siblings I have, where I like to shop, how little I exercise, what I like to eat (a lot!), what I'm really doing when I tell him I'm busy... and on and on and on. Needless to say, I was shocked that he knew so much about me. I read page after hair-raising tattling page, and finally I got to the last one where he had drawn fireworks and had written, "The End! And we will live happily ever after!"   

Well, for now I'll adhere to the command in that last sentence and try to figure out how best to hide my stuff from him. Happy mother's day to me eh?

Years ago I interviewed my own mom for a piece I was writing. I wasn't a mother yet, but I was very aware of, and grateful for, all she had done for me all my life. Now that I'm a mother, I'm even more in awe of her. Throughout the interview she kept trying to take the attention off her and put it on her mother instead. She said this of her: "The most influential person in my life is my mother. She is the one person from whom I continually draw strength. I don't know how she manages to give so much and still be strong herself." My grandmother is no longer with us, but that description of her as a source of strength continues to be true today for us (the daughters and granddaughters she left behind).

But maybe because I (like my tattle-tongue son) know the real value of a life story worth sharing is in all the bits and pieces of it--the sticky-sweet, the large, the small, and the not-so-sweet--what I remember most dearly from my mother's description of her mother during that interview is this: "She managed to carve herself a wonderful existence from a miserable marriage. She was a regular churchgoer and was well-respected in the community where we lived. But she was no shrinking violet. During the height of the 1960s race riots in Guyana, she canvassed for the PNC in predominantly East Indian areas. We were all fearful for her safety, but she survived and the party she canvassed for won. Much later however, she, and many like her, would live to regret their victory."

Happy mother's day to all the women who fight bravely and who are braver still to honestly assess the values of the battles they wage, and the outcomes of those battles.

The Caribbean Review of Books, May 2010: Now fully online!

CRB editor, Nicholas Laughlin, tells us the May 2010 relaunch of the journal "marks a shift in medium, but not in purpose, direction, or ambition."

For those of us who will miss our nicely packaged hard copy version, Nicholas promises that in its new medium the CRB "will continue to provide serious (but not solemn) coverage of contemporary Caribbean books and writing via insightful, intelligent reviews and essays. Along with the critical writing for which (we hope) we’re best known, we’ll also continue to publish original poems and fiction, writers’ interviews, reflections, and memoirs, and occasional essays on Caribbean culture and current affairs more widely."

He tells us if there's anything new (or additional) to be expected from the CRB online, that may be "its closer attention to the Caribbean’s visual imagination, through portfolios of work by contemporary artists and exhibition reviews; and, every now and then, [it will] cast an eye on developments in music and film." [more of Nicholas's intro to the relaunched CRB here].

As I said before, I'll miss the old version, but I'm happy at the thought that this will open up the writing being done there to wider audiences.

Check out the current reviews and writings (including a review of Grace Nichols's Picasso, I Want My Face Back) and much more here.