Dis ‘n Dat

DISCLAIMER: By definition, you’ll be linking to third party sites from these Links-We-Love pages. Linked sites are not, however, reviewed or controlled by Wadadli Pen (the blog, the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize nor coordinator/blogger Joanne C. Hillhouse); and Wadadli Pen (the blog, the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize and coordinator/blogger Joanne C. Hillhouse) disclaims any responsibility or liability relating to any linked sites and does not assume any responsibility for their contents. In other words, enter at your own risk.

Best of Books Antigua on facebook.

Honestly don’t know a lot about this but it seems like something I need to get to know more about: the Creative Industries Exchange.

Got some fresh news from Chosen Sounds in the email today. I’m going to share their links here not just because owner Omari Harrigan was very generous with his support of the launch of my book Oh Gad! in 2012 but because they are all-in on the support of the musical arts in Antigua and Barbuda. Find them at www.chosensounds.net and www.theyard268.com

Hard to get printed historical material seems to be available through this site.

The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda – Opened in 1985 and housed in one of the oldest and best preserved buildings on the island, this is, of course, one of the best spots for exploring Antigua and Barbuda’s history. See the old Museum site.

Want a better world for girls? Say domething, here.

You’ve heard of the TED Talks and likely seen ones (like this one by Sir Ken Robinson on how schools as currently constructed kill creativity, Tracey Chevalier’s wonderful presentation on finding the story inside the painting, and Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie’s powerful presentation the Danger of a Single Story) well this is the TEDx – TED affiliated local events – this one in Barbados.

As a space for theatrical presentations in Antigua, in fact the focal point of theatre in Antigua in the 1970s to the 1980s and also the first place where earlier in the double zeros I saw a Walcott play live for the first time, the University Centre (now the University of the West Indies Open Campus – Antigua and Barbuda) is not totally out of place on this site.

Just discovered this History of Antigua and Barbuda in Writings, Photographs, and Stories by Dr. Susan Lowes; worth checking out. And related to that, the Arawwwak project, a Columbia University project directed by Dr. Lowes.

I edited a book for this blogger, a delicious culinary book. It’s not in wide release yet; meantime, check out her blog: Sitting in a Mango Tree.

Think of it as a Trini Amazon with an artistic bent; it’s Ah Piece! – a place where you can source the creations of Trinidad and Tobago artisans, online. Now isn’t that a novel idea more Caribbean art communities should embrace?

Met Annie Paul at the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars conference in 2012. This is where she blogs on the literary arts and other things. Also had the opportunity to reconnect with well known author, literary scholar and former professor Carolyn Cooper and like Paul she is another thought provoking blogger out of Jamaica. Here’s where she stirs it up.

It’s a little known secret that while I don’t cook (well), I do watch cooking shows and troll cooking sites like this one: Tastes Like Home.

http://womenspeak.tumblr.com/ - This is a space for women to share their stories, embrace their power, and celebrate their womanhood. It’s also a space of vulnerability and pain where the struggles and sacrifices are spotlighted. It’s an inclusive space, constantly updated with information and prompts designed to engage the reader in the process. Also, it’s 100 percent Caribbean. Check it out.

http://www.antiguapublib.org – This is the homepage for the national library of Antigua and Barbuda. The book listings seem incomplete and the site in general doesn’t seem to have been updated in a while, but it seems to be a good portal to research resources, teaching aids and such.

http://islandstyle.typepad.com – Okay, so this site isn’t strictly literary but the blogger (an Antiguan) does have an engaging style and occasionally posts excerpts of fictions. But mostly it’s about fashion…and what’s wrong with that?

http://danielleboodoofortune.blogspot.com – I’ve been a fan of Trini Danielle Boodoo Fortune’s poetry since I met and shared a panel with her in Barbados in 2008. Who knew she was such a delightful artist as well?

 - Youths Speak Out is the outcome of a one week workshop I co-facilitated at the Youth Department during the schools’ Easter Break 2011. A gathering of opinionated and articulate young people, ranging in age roughly from 14 to 19, it was a purpose driven exercise in equipping young people of Antigua and Barbuda with the tools to speak their truth and giving them a forum to do just that. They put the nuts and bolts of the blog together themselves, I was merely a guide.

http://sheroxlox.tumblr.com - I heart this blog by feminist activist Amina Doherty.

Amina photo part of the She Rox Lox series byZIA Photography.

http://www.creativecaribbeannetwork.com – Like the name says this is  network of creative people.

http://www.darkwaves.com/sfch/writing/ckilian/ - I thought this link might be useful to others trying to jump start their writing (and specifically novel writing). Ok, at this posting, I’ve only read the section on ‘Reading a Contract’ but having been through a few book contracts myself, I thought the information would be useful to other writers trying to make sense of it all. This is another link of writing prompts.

http://merrick.library.miami.edu/digitalInitiatives/cwsi/date.html - The Caribbean Fiction Writers Summer Institute ran from 1991 to 1996 at the University of Miami. I (JCH) had the opportunity to participate in this programme in 1995 as a participant in the fiction  workshop led by Olive Senior. It was during this summer that I started work on the Boy from Willow Bend. It was a life changing experience learning from, sharing with, experiencing literary brothers and sisters from the Caribbean; rare and delightful company indeed. This link will take you to audio recordings of writers who participated in this programme including over the years Mervyn Morris, Geoffery Philp, Zee Edgell, Earl Lovelace, Lorna Goodison and so many others. My reading can be found at Programme 13, 1995. Take your time, browse the archives and enjoy.

http://www.antiguanice.com - Before Wadadli Pen ever had its own site, it had a page on Antigua Nice, the country’s local online hub, thanks to the generousity of Colin and Alison Sly-Adams.

http://antiguastories.wordpress.com/about/ - The Friends of Antigua Public Library is interested in collecting oral histories; some of them are posted here. Do you have a story to share? I’m sure they’d like to hear it.

http://www.karibbeanexpressions.com/  – This site promotes Caribbean talent. ‘Nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BendWillow - My You Tube link; mostly The Boy from Willow Bend online ad (and a few other vids) so far.

http://www.markbrownart.com/ - Mark Brown is the extremely talented Antiguan artist and art teacher who has generously donated his time to coordinate the judging of the visual arts portion of Wadadli Pen, added in 2010.  Check out his Angel in Crisis series of images.

Permit me to mention this other artist, Barbadian artist Sheena Rose, whom I had the opportunity to profile for my former Zing column Creative Space – http://sroseart.tumblr.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/WayneBowen - Stilll  on You Tube, I have to mention Jamaican Wayne Bowen’s vid uploads. I actually had the opportunity to collaborate with other writers from the region (including Bowen, who is also the director of the vids) on creating these for the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation.

http://www.searchantigua.com/ - Ken Shipley was a God send with the first Wadadli Pen website. Here’s his site chock full of all things Antiguan and Barbudan. Including this listing of Antiguan and Barbudan writers.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is
written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing
Nude in the Moonlight, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it,
check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the
word about Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep
up with future updates. Thanks.

The Carnival Zone

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with Wadadli Pen or writing, but I couldn’t let Carnival in Antigua pass without doing a Carnival post (this piece was written pre-Carnival, right on the eve of Carnival); here’s hoping we all had a good time but didn’t forget ourselves in the Carnival Zone.

Is there such as thing as the Carnival Zone? A Zone where we find ourselves saying to business associates, I’ll call you after the season? As if the season (not Summer, mind, but the Carnival season) represents one huge time out. Actually, it’d be interesting to find out how much actual work actually gets done during the Carnival season between recovering from the night before and anticipating the night ahead. Not a lot probably, though we are hard working folk and it’s not like time stops just because the Carnival spirit has seduced us into thinking we’re on a mini-break. We know on which side our bread is buttered, right?

Though who can blame us for feeling, as Carnival finally says luk mi yah, like we want nothing more than to dance away with it, fuelled by a beer or two and more music than we know how to say no to. The back log of work and the drudgery of it all is weak competition for this strange euphoria settling over us. We have entered the Carnival Zone.

Yes it does exist.

And as the days roll on and it continues to suck us in, will we be able to resist the temptation to spend money earmarked for mortgage and food, maybe to get a jump on school fees, instead on “ostrich plumes and feathers” knowing full well that we’re not really buying these flimsy items but the experience that comes with them.

After all as Red Hott reminded us a Carnival or two ago, “we love to play mas”. In fact, it sometimes feels like the rest of the year is a dream and we live to play mas. And as we continue to be sucked into the Zone, it’s hard to remember why it’s a bad idea to spend somewhere between $500 and $1200 on a two day street party. Or if the haze lifts and we do remember, in the Zone, it’s easy to find justifications for this bit of frivolity: … it only happens once a year…we’ve earned it…all work and no play…

We know if we don’t the sight of revelers dancing past will taunt us as it does every time we let the voice of reason penetrate the Zone, like an annoying ringing (time to get up!) intruding on a beautiful dream, a dream in which our past mas memories represent the absolute best times of our life. Better than our graduation, our marriage, the birth of our child, the publication of our book. Oh Gad! Who can resist such a temptation?

And have you noticed how in the Zone we seem to forget ourselves, baring, tearing, leering, all the while sneering at the unlucky lot who have to watch from the sidelines, who know all too well what they’re missing and how good it feels. And is that our boss over there watching us with his jaw on the ground?  Pick it up, Mister, don’t you know that like Vegas, what happens in the Zone stays in the Zone. Unless of course it ends up on YouTube – or given some of our antics, YouP*rn – but that’s a worry for Wednesday, after the Carnival. There are no frown lines in the Zone. Only big smiles and win’ing hips and unbridled bliss.

I’m being facetious, of course. But if my exaggerations have a point – and that’s questionable – Carnival is undoubtedly a time to release the pressure of jobs and bills and deadlines and relationship troubles…or it feels like it. Nothing wrong in embracing the positive vibes in the Zone (we sure need some good vibrations during this long drought)…as long as we don’t forget ourselves too much in the process; because what happens in the Carnival doesn’t necessarily stay in the Carnival, does it?

If only.

 As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, DancingNude in the Moonlight, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about
Wadadli Pen and my books. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.