Complicated, courageous, creative. Toronto Caribbean Newspaper’s authors of the decade

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The world as we know it has been created by minds who have the courage to think outside the box, take a look at what already exists, originate or recreate. We are all born with the capacity to create, but there are those who are unique. Iconoclastic. Rebels. Considered leaders of their time. They influence people not necessarily with their beaming personality, but through their innate gifts and talents.

As a writer, it would be amiss for me not to recognize creatives who utilize the pen (more so the computer now) to colour outside the lines of written word. They utilize words as building blocks in their architecture. Their intention is to show the world a picture that they may have not seen before, breaking rules along the way. As a result, a new standard is set, and all writers who follow do so knowing that a precedent has been set. They write to write; not to be noticed, not to sell books, but for the pure joy of painting pictures with words.

Literature coming out of the Caribbean islands was first identified at the end of the 18^th century (Britannica.com) Letters and speeches of Toussaint-Louverture showed awareness of cultural identity. It was not until the 1920s that Spanish and French Caribbean writers begin to break away from European ideals and identify themselves with their fellow West Indians, most of who were black (Britinnica.com). West African people brought to the West Indies as slaves were unable to bring their written traditions. They were not able to develop ones while in slavery (postcolonialweb.org). They learned to pass on their culture through storytelling and song. It was after World War II that the true growth was seen. Independent states like Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica began producing anglophone writers who focused their creative written expression on developing Caribbean awareness. Since then, there has been an explosion of work coming out of the Caribbean. Greats including Sam Selvon, Louise Bennet-Coverly, David Dabydeen, Paule Marshall, Frantz Fanon, and a list that could easily fill this page.

This article will highlight prolific writers of this decade. Individuals who in their own ways have stamped their names in literary history. I would like for you to take the time to recognize: Junot Diaz, Nalo Hopkinson, Thomas Glave, and Nadia L. Hohn (home grown talent), Toronto Caribbean Newspaper’s picks for Caribbean authors of the decade.

Junot Díaz

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey, Díaz is the author of the critically acclaimed Drwon; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize, and was the National Book Critics Circle Award winner. This is How You Lose Her became a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. This Rutgers College graduate was also the recipient of a Mac Arthur “Genius” Fellowship, PEN/Malamud Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Guggenheim Fellowship, and the PEN/O. Henry Award.

With his success has come some controversy. Ghosts of his past have crept into his present, and he was accused of the sexual assault of a few women. He took full responsibility for his actions, and in turn shares the story of his rape at the age of eight years old, and his dismay of having an erection during the assaults. He speaks in great detail about the need to teach all men about consent and boundaries. “The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma,” was mostly written for the New Yorker, and it describes the trauma he went through, and his attempts at suicide because of what had occurred.

Nalo Hopkinson

At the age of three, she was reading Homer’s Iliad. She discovered that fantastical fiction was her favourite type of fiction. From Caribbean folklore to Ursula K. LeGuin’s science fiction and fantasy, Hopkinson realized that there was something about this genre that intrigued her. 1993 was her descent into the world of the unknown. Her books include: Brown Girl in the Ring (Warner Aspect First Novel Contest in 1997), Sister Mine was published in 2013 (young adult and middle grade fiction), and House of Whisper, the first of six DC Comics compilation of graphic novels. She won: the Los Angeles Public Library: Best of 2015 Fiction, The Conversationalist: Best Books of 2015, Open Letters Monthly, Top 2015 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Read.

She now lives in Southern California and is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside.

Thomas Glave

Jamaica-American author and LGBTQ activist Thomas Glave was born in the Bronx, and split his time between there and Kingston, Jamaica. His powerful voice has been recognized in his fiction collection, Whose Song? And Other Stories (2000), along with his essay collection, Words to Our Now: Imagination and Dissent (2005). He is also the editor of the anthology Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles (2008), the first book of its kind and a compelling contribution to queer postcolonial literatures everywhere.

Glave is the second gay African American writer to win the O. Henry Prize. In 2008, he was nominated for the Stonewall Book Award for his novel The Torturer’s Wife. Glave was also awarded the Fullbright Fellowship to Jamaica for his social justice work, and for founding the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays.

Nadia L. Hohn

I have had the honour of interviewing Toronto’s own Nadia Hohn, a young writer who shot to fame this decade. From the age of six years old, Nadia L. Hohn has been writing stories, drawing pictures and making books. This has been a powerful year for Nadia, and her achievements are momentous:

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Children’s Literature Award 2015-2016

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Writers’ Award  2018

SCBWI Canada East Rising Kite Award & Scholarship 2018

6 Black Canadian Writers to Watch in 2018, CBC Canada

A Different Booklist People’s Award for Contribution in Children’s Literature 2016

Helen Issobel Sissons Canadian Children’s Book Award for manuscript of Malaika’s Costume  2014

Along with being 1 of 6 Black Canadian Writers to Watch in 2018, and receiving the Canada East Rising Kite Diversity Scholarship recipient, Nadia has ended her decade with another reading delight, A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett-Coverley Found Her Voice, nonfiction picture book about the performer, playwright, author, and Jamaican cultural ambassador, Louise Bennett-Coverley otherwise known as Miss Lou.

It was nearly impossible to narrow down the list of literary contributions coming from the Caribbean. The writers selected were highlighted for the work they have done, the strides they have taken, the courage it took to do it, and the impact that they will continue to have.