One of my courses this semester is on Caribbean Literature (it’s technically my 4th Year Seminar course, of which I am allowed to only take 2 in my entire undergraduate degree… my previous one was on Healing through Reading). It’s interesting to lump together so many diverse cultures and diaspora into a single umbrella term… “Caribbean.”
I’ve never been, of course. I mean, I would’ve loved to have gone when I was younger, but my parents were not big on “fun” or “travel” and so I didn’t. And now I know too much… the tourism industry in the Caribbean is a brutality in so many ways that I can’t bring myself to make a trip, even if I could afford it.
Which, of course, I can’t.
But at least I can read some of their works! I read A Small Place last week, as I think I mentioned, and I’m going to start Caryl Phillips’ Cambridge later today. I’m looking forward to it! The poetry we’ve had to read thus far hasn’t really been “my thing,” but no fault of the poetry. I just don’t really like or “get” poetry as a matter of course.
So I’ll let y’all know how this story works out in a few days when I finish it up! Our professor has spent a lot of time discussing how the geography and geopolitical landscape of the Antilles works its way into the works we will be reading… I wonder if Canada does that with my own writing?
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!