What does it mean to be a Caribbean woman writer? Shall I write about being from the Caribbean or about being a woman'...And in what ways am I to differentiate being a writer from being a scholar? Should any such differentiation be made? The first volume in The Caribbean / African Diaspora Series, this collection of incisive and provocative essays by a range of writers addresses this question posed by noted author Myriam Chancy in her chapter. The wide variety of perspectives and literary approaches convey the immediacy of the contributors' responses.

Caribbean Women Writers is a collection of scholarly articles on the fiction of selected Caribbean women writers from Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. It includes not only close critical analysis of texts by Erna Brodber, Dionne Brand, Zee Edgell, Jamaica Kincaid, Paule Marshall, Pauline Melville, Jean Rhys and Olive Senior, but also personal statements from the writers Merle Collins, Beryl Gilroy, Vernella Fuller and Velma Pollard.

15 essays and two interviews that examine the work of West Indian writers living in Canada. The authors of these essays and interviews dissect issues of history, gender, power, identity and levels of discourse in moving scholars, researchers and students into arenas of study and critique of the West Indian Woman writer residing in Canada.

They have written of mothertongues and motherlands, of exile, of the boundaries of bodies, of the politics of owning and not owning themselves. Though worlds apart, writings as diverse as Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, published in 1966, and Jamaica Kincaid's Autobiography of My Mother, published 30 years later, nevertheless share a setting of shocking yet sinister beauty; a sense of the loss of a mother and the implications of this loss upon one's self; and a deeply resonant literary heritage.

This collection of writings from Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot includes his most famous, lesser known, and hard to find writings that demonstrate his enduring importance to Caribbean studies, anthropology, history, postcolonial studies, and politically engaged scholarship more broadly.

"Calypsonians have long been the 'voice of the people', delivering the complaints, criticisms and even the solutions to political leaders. In its earliest manifestations, calypso music emerged in response to a cultural climate that demanded creative modes of expression that could both resist and record political and historical changes taking place in Trinidad and Tobago. Since the 1920s and 1930s, calypsonians typically have composed songs that chronicle their observations and opinions on current events focusing on specific occurrences, from local scandals to current affairs while also examining broader trends. Not only has calypso served as an unofficial record of historical events, it emerged as a cultural weapon that yielded tremendous sway within the general audiences of the Caribbean region. This collection includes contributions from calypsonians, critics, novelists and poets alike, all engaged in representing Caribbean culture in its myriad forms. It represents an array of convergences across critical perspectives, political and social agendas, generations and national boundaries. The work of numerous calypsonians and other singers are explored, including Sparrow; Kitchener; Chalkdust; Denise Belfon; and writers such as Samuel Selvon, V.S. Naipaul, Jean Rhys, Errol John, Paul Marshall, Earl Lovelace and Lashkmi Persaud. The comparative analyses provide an interdisciplinary approach to Cultural Studies making the volume essential reading for students, scholars and calypso enthusiasts. "