| samenvatting: |
The first book of its kind, "Our Caribbean" is an anthology of lesbian and gay writing
from across the Antilles. The author and activist Thomas Glave has gathered outstanding
fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and poetry by little-known writers along with selections
by internationally celebrated figures such as Reinaldo Arenas, Audre Lorde, Achy Obejas,
Assotto Saint, Jose Alcantara Almanzar, Michelle Cliff, and Dionne Brand. The result
is an unprecedented literary conversation on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered
experiences throughout the Caribbean and its far-flung diaspora. Many selections were
originally published in Spanish, Dutch, or creole languages; some are translated into
English here for the first time. The thirty-seven authors hail from the Bahamas, Barbados,
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico,
St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Suriname, and Trinidad. Many have lived outside the Caribbean,
and their writing depicts histories of voluntary migration as well as exile from repressive
governments, communities, and families. Many pieces have a political urgency that
reflects their authors' work as activists, teachers, community organizers, and performers.
Desire commingles with ostracism and alienation throughout: in the evocative portrayals
of same-sex love and longing, and in the selections addressing religion, family, race,
and class. From the poem "Saturday Night in San Juan with the Right Sailors" to the
poignant narrative "We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?" to
an eloquent call for the embrace of difference that appeared in the "Nassau Daily
Tribune" on the eve of an anti-gay protest, "Our Caribbean" is a brave and necessary
book.
|
Nederlands
English
