WELCOME to the 2023 ArtsEtc Independence Reading List. This is the twelfth edition (already!) of our annual list of Barbadian literature to acquaint yourself with over the next twelve months.
We’ll be doing things a little differently this outing. Our focus this year will be on digital material for young readers (and those who are forever young). We’ll also be including study guide questions and notes about the authors to make the list easier for teachers to use, interact with. Something of a starting point for all the conversations we know can be had about the work below!
This effort was inspired by University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, lecturer Sam Soyer’s desire to better highlight "accessible" Barbadian work suitable for students. There is plenty of excellent Barbadian writing, across all forms and genres, out there. The challenge oftentimes is knowing where to legitimately look for it.
We hope the stories, essays and poems below will provide an adventurous starting point, both useful and entertaining, to more Barbadian literature!
Be sure to browse the website for related material from our previous lists, such as our IndyList reviews of past titles. All of our IndyLists are available on ArtsEtc's website, including other features about Barbadian literature, culture and heritage. Please visit our online fiction, poetry and artist's studio galleries, too.
The Editors wish to thank the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment and the Bajan Reporter for their ongoing support of the IndyList. We invite schools, reading groups and book clubs interested in learning more about the IndyList to contact us
Happy New Year and happy reading—all year long!
THE 2023 INDYLIST TITLES
“The Night You Left,” Tammi Browne-Bannister
Study question: Find and discuss three lines that let us know the type of friendship the narrator and Brandon share. What do you think the author means by “jumbie hour”? What genre, or style, of story would you say this is?
About the author: Tammi Browne-Bannister is from Antigua and Barbuda. Her writing can be found in the anthologies So Many Islands and New World, Old Ways. She lives in Barbados and likes "tambrans and mangas.”
“At a Time When We’re Afraid, When We’re Petrified...Covid-19 Lockdown Poem #1,” Linda M. Deane
Study question: Why do you feel the women in the poem are dancing? Watch the video of the poem. Which lines best convey what it is like to shop during lockdown? What affected you most during lockdown? Make a list and use it to create your own video/poem.
About the author: Linda M. Deane is an award-winning poet and essayist who writes for both children and adults. She is an editor, a creative writing tutor, and a learning guide known as The Summer Storyteller. She is a co-founder of ArtsEtc.
“Tameisha’s Lesson,” Zoanne Evans
Study question: What clues does the author give about Tameisha’s character and background? Do you think the author accurately captures Bajan school life? What three objects would you have given Tameisha to take into the past and why?
About the author: Dr Zoanne Evans, a university lecturer, once taught in a school similar to the one in the excerpt. Her descriptions are partly inspired by her experiences there. The full story is to be published as Tameisha’s Adventure.
“Resurrection I,” Winston Farrell
Study question: Talk to someone in your family who still remembers making and flying kites. Compare what you learn with details in “Resurrection I.” What new understanding or appreciation does your information bring to the poem?
About the author: Winston Farrell, also known as I-Farrell, is an award-winning poet, playwright, actor, and youth worker. He is best known for the rhythm poem “De Minibus Man” and for literary pop-ups in Golden Square, Bridgetown.
“If I Plant You,” Brian Franklin
Study question: Find three sentences that describe light and darkness without using those words. What do you think the title of this story means? Imagine you are one of the characters: Are you most like Kaleb or Malik? How does this story make you feel?
About the author: Brian Franklin draws inspiration for his stories from Caribbean culture, history and folklore. In 2019, he was shortlisted for the Frank Collymore Literary Award. You can read his work in the anthology Old Worlds, New Ways.
“Cellphones and Disorder,” Adrian Green
Study question: Read the article at least twice. What tone do you think Green is using? Make a list of the good vs the bad regarding cellphones. Do you think his points are as relevant today as when he first made them in 2015?
About the author: Adrian Green is a well-known spoken word artist and social commentator. He was a founder of Iron-Sharpen-Iron with DJ Simmons and is a regular newspaper columnist. He has also sung in Crop Over calypso tents.
“Last Saturday Night,” Eric Lewis
Study question: How would you describe this work: comedy, drama, social commentary or other? Discuss the different meanings contained in the title. Do you think the work encourages or deters the behaviour it describes?
About the author: Eric Lewis is a founding member of the group Madd, a calypsonian, a civil servant, and a social commentator. In 2014, DJ Simmons won a NIFCA performing arts award for his stage interpretation of this poem.
“Word,” Esther Phillips
Study question: Why do you think the poem is titled “Word”? What other title would you give it and why? In groups of two, learn the poem and act it out, with one person as the narrator/tutor and the other as the carpenter.
About the author: Esther Phillips was born in St George, not far from Drax Hall Plantation. Drax Hall and the legacy of plantation slavery in Barbados form a key part of her recent work. In 2018, she became Barbados’ first poet laureate.
“Bajan Haiku 1,” DJ Simmons
Study question: Which verse, or stanza, jumps out at you most and why? With your teacher, research how to write a haiku. Using the technique, add a haiku about your own childhood or about Barbados to DJ’s poem.
About the author: DJ Simmons is a poet, spoken word artist, actor, and tutor. With wife and poet Empress Zingha, he is one half of the arts promotion company Gine On. His first name is Dempstu. He is a contemporary of Adrian Green.
“Ghosts of Petticoats,” Yvonne Weekes
Study question: How does the playwright use language and mood to imagine this moment in Barbados’ history? In groups of four or more, take turns being Nanny, the field workers/singers & drummers, and the person screaming at the end.
About the author: Dr Yvonne Weekes was born in London, England, and grew up between there and Montserrat. She moved to Barbados following the Soufriere Hills eruption and wrote about the experience in her memoir, Volcano. She teaches theatre at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill.
Last Modified: February 1, 2023
Catch up on your local reading by checking out our previous Lists:
2021/2022: http://www.artsetcbarbados.com/news/2022-indylist
2020: https://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2020-indylist
2019: https://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2019-indylist
2018: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2018-indylist
2017: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2017-indylist
2016: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2016-indylist
2015: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2015-indylist
2014: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/2014-indylist
2013: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/carrying-our-writers-us-artsetc%E2%80%99...
2012: http://artsetcbarbados.com/news/artsetc-champions-bajan-books
2011: http://aestagerightleft.blogspot.com/2011/
