Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles

by Thomas Glave (Editor)

The first book of its kind, Our Caribbean is an anthology of lesbian and gay writing from across the Antilles. The author and activist Thomas Glave has gathered outstanding fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry by little-known writers together with selections by internationally celebrated figures such as José Alcántara Almánzar, Reinaldo Arenas, Dionne Brand, Michelle Cliff, Audre Lorde, Achy Obejas, and Assotto Saint. The result is an unprecedented literary conversation on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experiences throughout the Caribbean and its far-flung diaspora. Many selections were originally published in Spanish, Dutch, or creole languages; some are translated into English here for the first time. The thirty-seven authors hail from the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Suriname, and Trinidad. Many have lived outside the Caribbean, and their writing depicts histories of voluntary migration as well as exile from repressive governments, communities, and families. Many pieces have a political urgency that reflects their authors’ work as activists, teachers, community organizers, and performers. Desire commingles with ostracism and alienation in the evocative portrayals of same-sex love and longing, and in the selections addressing religion, family, race, and class. From the poem “Saturday Night in San Juan with the Right Sailors” to the poignant narrative “We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?” to an eloquent call for the embrace of difference that appeared in the Nassau Daily Tribune on the eve of an anti-gay protest, Our Caribbean is a brave and necessary book. Contributors : José Alcántara Almánzar, Aldo Alvarez, Reinaldo Arenas, Rane Arroyo, Jesús J. Barquet, Marilyn Bobes, Dionne Brand, Timothy S. Chin, Michelle Cliff, Wesley E. A. Crichlow,
Mabel Rodríguez Cuesta, Ochy Curiel, Faizal Deen, Pedro de Jesús, R. Erica Doyle, Thomas Glave,
Rosamond S. King, Helen Klonaris, Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Audre Lorde, Shani Mootoo,
Anton Nimblett, Achy Obejas, Leonardo Padura Fuentes, Virgilio Piñera, Patricia Powell, Kevin Everod Quashie, Juanita Ramos, Colin Robinson, Assotto Saint, Andrew Salkey, Lawrence Scott,
Makeda Silvera, H. Nigel Thomas, Rinaldo Walcott, Gloria Wekker, Lawson Williams

Genres: LGBT, Queer, Nonfiction, Lesbian, Anthologies, Erotica, Africa

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2008

About the author

Thomas Glave was born in the Bronx and grew up there and in Kingston, Jamaica. A two-time New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow, he is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Brown University. His work has earned many honors, including the Lambda Literary Award in 2005, an O. Henry Prize (he is the second gay African American writer, after James Baldwin, to win this award), a Fine Arts Center in Provincetown Fellowship, and a Fulbright fellowship to Jamaica. While there, he worked on issues of social justice, and helped found the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays."

Reviews

[Charlott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology - which I read following Kiki's recommendation - accompanied me through the entire month which was great as it honoured #ReadCaribbean and #PrideMonth all at once.

Our Caribbean was first published in 2008 and is a treasure trove. It brings together a wide array of writers with different styles, genres, themes, and also politics. The following bullet points might give an idea:

🖊️37 writers

🏳️‍🌈Dominican Republic (2), Puerto Rico (4), Cuba (8), Trinidad (9), Jamaica (7), Bahamas (1), Grenada (1), Barbados (2), St. Kitts (1), Haiti (1), St. Vincent (1), Suriname (1)

🎉Includes texts first published between 1956 - 2005 (though the majority in the 1990 and early 2000)

📖 Short stories, poems, extracts from novels, academic papers, travel writing, memoir etc

Of course, these few points can't do justice to the content. I loved Audre Lorde's text on the repercussions of Hurricane Hugo. Shani Mootoo's biting story Out on Main Street made me hungry for more of her work. After Reading Achy Obejas's extract from We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? made me happy that I already got one of her novels right here. Absolutely loved Rinaldo Walcott's essay on Black queer community in Toronto - also Assoto Saint's work in Haiti and belonging. Gloria Wekker quotes Audre Lorde's and Astrid Roemer's debate on why (not) to claim the label lesbian. I could go on and on. In short: this might not be the new shiny publication everyone is after but this is a profound book I highly recommend.

[Elevate Difference · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multicultural literature gives its audiences a glimpse of a world that is far-removed from their armchairs. Another virtue of mulitcultural literature is that it often gives voice to people who are ignored or shunned to the side. What makes Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles so vital is that the focus of the works collected is the LGBT communities of Central America and the West Indies. Often these cultures have been plagued by homophobia and their respective gay and lesbian communities have been repressed into silence, making the authors' writing all the more important. The scope of this collection runs from essays to poetry and stories to book entries. What links the stories is the importance of having these authors' points of view presented.

Aldo Alvarez's "Property Values" is the strongest story of the collection. It is a comic fable of prejudice and social grace, dealing with an ambitious real estate agent who is faced with her own ignorance and bigotry after learning that her wealthy clients are gay. The story has a wonderful twist of an ending, where our real estate agent gets her due; however, Alvarez never neglects to maintain her humanity. While the story is funny, there are some serious issues of classism, homophobia, and discrimination that maintain their presence, without hurting the story or its clever tone.

Another strong piece is Marilyn Bobos' "Somebody Has to Cry" a poignant tale of a group of people who are strongly affected by the life and death of a charismatic female acquaintance. What is so engaging about this story is that Bobos creates a gallery of believable characters, each with a distinct voice and intellect. While the dead woman is central to each character's monologue, each also has a complex story of his or her own to share.

The transgender community isn't ignored. Jose Alcantara Almanzar's stunning "Lulu or the Metamorphosis" maps out a day-in-the-life of our heroine, a MTF transgendered person. Almanzar details the struggle and duality that Lulu faces not only emotionally, but physically as well. What sets this story apart from the others is the wonderful detail to Lulu's surroundings: the music, food, even the temperature.

Not all the stories fit into the tone of the work. Surprisingly, the weakest entry comes from the brilliant Before Night Falls author, Reinaldo Arenas. "Eroticism," taken out of the context of its source, is one-note and unappealing. The author makes out a laundry list of sexual trysts that go awry. The humiliating experiences that the gay characters must go through are presented in almost gleeful fashion - a sadistic collection of different ways gay men could be debased. When reading the other authors' empowering works, Arenas' contribution is head-scratchingly craven and backward.

While the motivation is to highlight the struggles of the Caribbean LGBT community, the goal of the stories is to impart to the audience a population underserved and undernourished. Here's hoping that these writers will find mainstream success and be able to pen stories with happy endings.

Review by Peter Piatkowski

[Blackbook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got an ARC of this handsome, dense, brainy book. The first book of its kind, 37 Caribbean contributors writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry and personal essay. I love the tension and grace in these stories about longing and desire, invisibility, ostracism and personal triumph even if there no societal or community acceptance. This is not a fast read. Take your time. Break out of your own "reading ghetto" into something new.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it could've used more from the Francophone Antilles (one author from Haiti, none from Martinique or Guadeloupe), but overall an excellent collection.

[Bill Brydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introductory collection by mostly expat writers and critics.

[D]

-Balanced anthology with contributions from writers acorss the carr-female, male, time periods etc.