Big, bright wave: KAMAU 85

ON MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015, Barbadian cultural icon Kamau Brathwaite turns 85.

For the past three months, ArtsEtc has been calling out to writers, artists, scholars, friends, admirers, and critics to join in a milestone celebration and exploration of this complex creative, his work and his influence. The response to this literary adventure, which we're calling KAMAU 85, has been illuminating and wide-scale—almost overwhelming: A big, bright wave, to quote from Kamau's own contribution.

ArtsEtc is an independent publisher of anthologies through its imprint AE Books. Cricket and the environment have been themes of some of the print anthologies thus far. KAMAU 85 represents our first online anthology. It is also, to quote one contributor, a doffing of hats and hearts  to our (still) unofficial poet laureate.  The project will also form a cornerstone of an online educational resource for secondary school students and teachers of Barbadian Literature.

Pictured above is a a taste test of what's to come. We go live across our entire site with the rest of the "big, bright wave" on May 11.

• Illustration by Lamair Nash; text from “Griot” by Icil Phillips.