Brings together fiction from the French- Spanish-, & English-speaking Caribbean, much of it translated here for the first time. The 15 selections deal with basic themes of the region's literature: the plantation, maroon society, colonial educ., rural & urban life, women's changing roles in the modern Caribbean, exile, & the diaspora. Works include Jamaican author James Carnegie's, ''Wages Paid,''; a selection by Guadeloupan novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart; Puerto Rican short stories from Ana Lydia Vega; & fiction from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, St. Kitts, & Barbados. Together they offer the first picture of a Caribbean voice & aesthetic. An extensive bibliography of further reading invites you to explore beyond this initial collection.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ethnic diversity and the battle to overcome colonial oppression are the two dominant motifs in this uniformly excellent, well-balanced collection of stories and essays from the Caribbean. Smorkaloff, who teaches at NYU's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, groups the entries into sections on plantation society, colonization and colonial education, inter-Caribbean relations, liberation and so on. The writing ranges widely in theme and tone, from a selection from Austin Clarke's stolid Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack that deals with growing up black and being educated British in Barbados to the Latin flourishes of Cheryl Lima's "Common Stories," a whimsical account of the ravages of an extramarital affair between two urban intellectuals. In light of the current Haitian situation, Ana Lydia Vega's "Port-au-Prince, Below" is also noteworthy, offering an insider's look at the culture of Haiti that gets beneath the touristy reactions to vacation slides that open each section of the story ("Slide II: 'Oh my God, it's so dark, look at all the Blacks over there...'"). Smorkaloff goes the extra mile by providing a section of essays that frame the fiction against the politics and history of the region, as well as bibliographies of all the authors. This fine anthology will intrigue those new to Caribbean literature and may surprise even aficionados with the power and enormous variety of its prose.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Impressive [and] valuable. -- Miami Herald
Innovative. . . Smorkaloff's combination of thoroughness and restraint leaves readers free to explore a region whose literary tradition is perhaps as freewheeling and varied as any in the world. -- Boston Phoenix
Insightful. . . Like the Caribbean itself, this anthology is multifaceted, with a tantalizing variety of distinct textures and flavors. -- Quarterly Black Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Innovative. . . Smorkaloff's combination of thoroughness and restraint leaves readers free to explore a region whose literary tradition is perhaps as freewheeling and varied as any in the world. -- Boston Phoenix
Insightful. . . Like the Caribbean itself, this anthology is multifaceted, with a tantalizing variety of distinct textures and flavors. -- Quarterly Black Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a student of the Caribbean - otherwise....,
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This review is from: If I Could Write This in Fire: An Anthology of Literature from the Caribbean (Paperback)
Colorful and charismatic, the Caribbean is abundant with stories that beg to be told. Pamela Smorkaloff, a teacher at NYU Center for Caribbean Studies, gathers stories from various islands that bring the Caribbean and its people to life in this book.Smorkaloff's selections seek to counterbalance the "Europeanizing" of the Caribbean reality. The authors she selected all have a sense of belonging to a Caribbean consciousness..."anchored in reality, history and culture." From slavery and sugar cane to rural peasantry and cruise ships, these stories reflect an evolution of identity. Though this anthology is interesting, the writers failed to engage me. As is true with most collections of writers, you have some that enthrall you while others bore you. "If I Could Write This In Fire" lacked outstanding authors and had just a scattering of good writers. However, if you are a student of the Caribbean and its culture, this book could be beneficial. Otherwise, there are better reads. Conditionally recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a rich and rewarding reader,
By
This review is from: If I Could Write This in Fire: An Anthology of Literature from the Caribbean (Paperback)
I have used this book as a text in my Caribbean studies course since it was first published. The variety of literary styles, the richness of setting in both time and place, and, most of all, the brilliant storytelling, make this an outstanding book, both for study of the Caribbean and reading for pleasure.
The themes running through all stories collected here are the perilous state of the human condition everywhere and every time (since 1492) in the West Indies and the indomitable nature of the human spirit, which seems to come to the fore with most brilliance in challenging circumstances.
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