How have Caribbean women writers contributed to the Modern Romance genre? Who and what are their influences? If you are a Caribbean woman, and you have something to say about love, romance, relationships, sex, what would it be? What form would you write in--poem, short story, novel, erotic piece...?
And so begins my enquiry, my first steps, into part 2 of my Caribbean women writers series on this blog. In part 1 of the series, questions about place, interpretation of landscape and belonging took precedence as the series progressed. This time around, the starting subject is romance. And though I have initial questions in mind, I have no set answers or expectations for how the series will progress. I just hope for thrills, as was the case with the first series. And also as was the case with the first series, my focus will be mainly on fiction, but I will include non-fiction writing and poems that fit the theme as well.
Romance for me is about love, about optimism, about emotions, feelings, moments full of all those things, and all writ large. And for me, a good romance could range from the sweet and clean, to the torrid and erotic, but it must have a central love story.
How do you define romance?
Call for Romance-themed writing:
For this second series, I'd also like to include unpublished work by budding Caribbean women writers. And to that end, I'm issuing a call for short stories with themes about love and relationships, love poems, and pieces of erotica, of any length.
Please send your entries to signifyinguyana[at]gmail.com with "Caribbean Women Writers: Romance" in the subject area. I will be accepting entries until June 15, 2011, and at this point my aim is to use all of your submissions in the series, but I do reserve the right to reject any entry I deem unsuitable. If I choose to use your work, I'll contact you for further information on how you'd like to be featured alongside your writing--feature options include, photos, interviews, and/or brief or extended bios.
If you're not interested in submitting unpublished work , you can still contribute to the series by suggesting published titles, and by spreading the word to any Caribbean woman you think may be interested in submitting work. The series is scheduled to begin in July, 2011.
Thanks in advance for your participation.
