It would be safe to say that the books I'm listing here are probably not the best to be included on any list of books written by Caribbean women which explore / are themed / or can be used to explore the concept of romance--that is, romance as you will see it defined (meticulously in some cases) as a literary period, or as a formulaic structure for a novel about love relationships.
But romance, as broadly encompassing as I have used the term so far--embracing idealism, adventure, pioneerism, maudlin lyric, sex, and love relationships--has been kind to my search for it in the writings of Caribbean women. And I will continue to be as non-meticulous and as adventurous as this medium allows with the books on this list that are still to be read. My criteria for choosing books was as broad. Some were selected with idealistic thoughts about representing as many Caribbean countries as possible. Some were selected based on my knowledge of the writer's work. Some were recommended by blog friends, and in some cases I did a bit of prereading to decide whether or not to include.
Though I intend to tease out and to some degree manipulate details into some theory or other of romance, I will not ignore other aspects of the works. Ultimately, my intention is to have fun reading and sharing the works of Caribbean women writers with you. And so the list, in no particular order:
Caribbean Women Writers / Romance / Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry:
(Previously read)
--The Loneliness of Angels, Myriam Chancy.
--Caribbean Erotic, Eds. Opal Palmer Adisa and Donna Weir-Soley.
--Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys.
--Café au Lait, Liane Spicer.
--By Love Possessed, Lorna Goodison.
--A Leaf in His Ear, Mahadai Das.
--Our Wife and Other Stories, Karen King-Aribisala.
--The Ladies are Upstairs, Merle Collins.
--The Twelve Foot Neon Woman, Loretta Collins Klobah.
--Tantie Diablesse, Fawzia Kane.
--This Strange Land, Shara McCallum.
--Vital Signs, Tessa McWatt.
(To be read)
--We came all the way from Cuba so you could dress like this? Achy Obejas.
--The Chaos, Nalo Hopkinson.
--Mama Lily and The Dead, Nicolette Bethel.
--Sweetheart, Alecia McKenzie.
--What you can't tell him, Sharon Leach.
--In the Name of Salome, Julia Alvarez.
--Oh Gad! Joanne Hillhouse.
--Minding Ben, Victoria Brown.
--The Scorpion's Claw, Myriam Chancy.
--Considering Venus, D. Gisele Isaac.
--The Pagoda, Patricia Powell.
--Songster, Jennifer Rahim.
--Song of the Water Saints, Nelly Rosario.
--The History of Mary Prince, Mary Prince.
--Fictions of Feminine Citizenship, Donette Francis.
--Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women, Myriam Chancy.
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