Carib Lit Plus (Early to Mid January 2021 – & Happy New Year!)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information)

Misc.

The BarbudanGo grant for a project on Barbuda has gone to ACT – no, not that ACT. Congrats to the ACT Drama Theatre. –

(Source – facebook)

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Just before Christmas, Brooklyn based online Caribbean arts non-profit tropicalfete.com launched the Caribbean Cultural Puzzle. St. Lucian born founder and tropicalfete.com president Alton Aimable said, “The purchase of the puzzle helps us with our mission of developing the community in arts and social services with the focus on educating the community on Caribbean culture. The projects we engage in are to use culture as a tool for social transformation,” he shared. (Source – email from tropicalfete.com)

RIP

I would like to be able to do one of these without having to do a death announcement but it is not this day… this day we mourn Zuri Holder who died tragically on January 4th 2020 of injuries sustained during a vehicular accident. Zuri was family. I met him as a very young child when I started volunteering with the Cushion Club and watched him grow over the years. His dad Cedric has kept that Club going to this day, a literary and literal uncle to many children over 20 or so years, though Zuri graduated the Club some years ago and was a young adult. I can’t imagine his pain. The Wadadli Pen family will remember Zuri as a repeat finalist – second in the 12 and younger category in 2011 and winner of that category and third overall in 2013. Zuri had also been a dancer and drummer with the Antigua Dance Academy. Wadadli Pen deals with youth mostly so we haven’t really had as a platform to deal with the loss of one of our own before – forgive any missteps; my heart is heavy. (Source- the circle of us who knew him)

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Foremost Belizean author Zee Edgell died in December. I met her once and interviewed her as well (at the 2010 Antigua and Barbuda International Literary Festival) and found her not only to be calm but calming, her energy influencing yours in the most sublime way. No airs, no off putting ness despite being, well, Zee Edgell. “Edgell, lauded as Belize’s foremost fiction writer, was perhaps best known for her 1982 debut novel, Beka Lamb, read and studied by generations of students in the Caribbean and beyond. She received an honorary doctorate from the UWI Cave Hill, and was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.” (Bocas) Read more about Zee Edgell and view a reading of her work at the African American Literary Book Club. (Source – initially Bocas Lit Fest on Instagram followed by additional research and relfection)

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fAntiguan and New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey has died. He was a regular at the literary festival here in Antigua as seen above, during its short run, and even lived here for a time while working on one of his books which is partially set in Antigua. His death was a double blow coming within hours of Zuri’s passing. He was one of my literary angels and I mourn him. Read more about EJD here. (Source – initially twitter condolence post by another writer and then confirmation after much searching via Essence)

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This is one I should have mentioned before as it happened back in 2020 and I wanted to mention it because I believe people that put out themselves to give back should be recognized. Eugene Humphreys, self-described Minister of Helps, was not, to the best of my knowledge, part of the arts community but he was part of the culture – as someone who was a known community activist who was known for service through charitable acts and especially fundraising for people and projects that needed it. He died in December 2020 of cancer. His legacy is that of a selfless person doing for others and we need more of that in the world. (Source – Daily Observer newspaper)

Film

Have you been watching Academy award winning, Caribbean-British director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series? I’ve started and after watching Mangrove, I’m definitely invested in seeing the other films in this anthology series. I’ve already reported that Antiguan and Barbudan cinematographer Shabier Kirchner is DP on the series. There are other Caribbean people involved behind and in front of the camera including Black Panther’s little sister Shuri (Letitia Wright, whose roots are in Guyana). With the explosion of Black Lives Matter (again) in 2020, this series of films couldn’t be more timely. Mangrove (dealing with the trial of the Mangrove 9) in my opinion should be as much in the awards conversation as The Trial of the Chicago 7; in a year when everything is streaming anyway, I don’t know if it qualifies for an Oscar, but it should in my opinion since a theatrical run (an Oscar requirement) is not in the cards for many (almost any) films due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The story is fact-based and a reminder that anti-Blackness and the issues around that (including xenophobia) is not uniquely American – it is, in fact, global; and in this specific instance, we have a film that illustrates the discrimination experienced by migrants from the Caribbean (i.e. the British West Indies) and other people of colour parts of the British empire and the protests and activism it bred. (Source – various – it’s in the ether – but this post was prompted specifically by this article at The Root, which landed in my email inbox)

Books

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This book revisits Jean Rhys’s ground-breaking 1966 novel to explore its cultural and artistic influence in the areas of not only literature and literary criticism, but fashion design, visual art, and the theatre as well. Building on symposia that were held in London and New York in 2016 in honour of the novel’s half-century, this collection demonstrates just how timely Rhys’s insights into colonial history, sexual relations, and aesthetics continue to be. The chapters include an extensive interview with novelist Caryl Phillips, who in 2018 published a novel about Rhys’s life, an account of how Wide Sargasso Sea can be read through the lens of the #MeToo Movement, a clothing line inspired by the novel, and new critical directions. As both a celebration and scholarly evaluation, the collection shows how enduring Rhys’s novel is in its continuing literary influence and social commentary. (book summary) (Source – John Robert Lee/St. Lucian poet and archivist email blast)

Accolades

Rilys Adams, whom you may remember was a nominee for the Rebel Women Lit Caribbean Readers Awards Best Novel prize has another chance to win with the Romance book industry’s reader picked Swoonies. The results come out February 1st 2021. She is a semi-finalist for Best Erotic Romance with Go Deep and Romance Novella/Short Story with Birthday Shot, the same book nominated in the RWL CRA, if you’re thinking of voting. (Source – initially social media post by the writer then check of the actual site)

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The results of Rebel Women Lit Caribbean Readers Awards were announced on January 3rd 2020 and can be read/viewed in full here. The first announcement of the live had me over the moon because it was one of our own – Andre J. P. Warner taking the prize for best fiction for his 2020 winning Wadadli Pen piece, A Bright Future for Tomorrow. Jamaica’s Donna Hemans won the best novel award for Tea by the Sea. Antiguan and Barbudan writer and Wadadli Pen alum Rilys Adams, writing as Rilzy Adams, was shortlisted for this prize for her book Birthday Shot. Dominican-American writer Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap when you Land won the prize for best teen/young adult book. Best middle grade book was JAmerican writer Kereen Getten’s When Life gives you Mangoes. Puerto Rico’s Loretta Collins Klobah with Maria Grau Perejoan won the best translation prize for The Sea Needs No Ornament/El Mar No Necesita Ornamento, a collection they worked on while PR struggled to recover from Maria and which includes many other voices from the Caribbean. The poetry book prize went to New Voices: Selected by Lorna Goodison, Poet Laureate of Jamaica, 2017 – 2020. Best non-fiction book is US based professor Jessica Marie Johnson’s Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World. Olive Senior, veteran Jamaican writer partially based in Canada, for best short non-fiction for Crosswords in Lockdown: #WhatIAmDoingWithMyTime. Best short story collection went to Stick No Bills by Trinidad and Tobago’s Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw. The new content creator prize went to @ambi_reads on instagram; the critical work of Shivanee Ramlochan, Gabrielle Bellot, and Kelly Baker Josephs was recognized, and, and this was a surprise, I was an honoree. (Source – watched the announcement on their youtube channel)

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Antiguan and Barbudan legendary calypso writer Marcus Christopher died in 2015. This year, this tribute to him emerges.

(Source – Linkedin post by the artist)

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The PEN America 2021 awards nominees includes Caribbeanauthor Maisy Card, born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, and raised in Queens, NY in the USA. Her book, These Ghosts are Family is nominated for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, a prize worth US$10,000. Full slate of nominees listed here.

Nominees for PEN America award for debut novel of outstanding literary merit.

Winners to be announced in February 2021. (Source – PEN America email)

As with all content on this site, unless otherwise noted, this is prepared by Wadadli Pen founder and coordinator, Joanne C. Hillhouse. As we try to do, credit if sharing.

Most Influential Antiguans and Barbudans

This list is not scientific.

But that’s not the point. The point is….there is no point just an opportunity to acknowledge some of the people who’ve helped shape life in Antigua and Barbuda over the last hundred years or so according to … a very small group of people …with internet access … and a facebook presence … who had time today (not today) … and were aware that there was a poll being run by a random person on the internet.

Like I said, it’s not scientific.

But it was fun and educational, and culturally-relevant; all reasons I thought sufficient to bring the top 10 here to the Wadadli pen blog. My primary interest was in seeing how many of our artists made the list but it’s an opportunity for us to reflect (especially as the year winds down, and as we lose more and more) on the people who have shaped life in Antigua and Barbuda.

 So, here we go.

Top 10 Most Influential (in Antigua and Barbuda) of the last 100 years … (according to some people on facebook):

10 – tied – Elvira Bell, Christal Clashing, Samara Emmanuel, Kevinia Francis, and Junella King (i.e. Team Antigua Island Girls – first all Black, all female team to row the Atlantic), Baldwin Spencer (former Prime Minister and former leader of the Antigua-Barbuda Workers’ Union),

 

 

 

 

Jamaica Kincaid (celebrated international author of fictionalized memoirs like Annie John, Lucy, and See Now Then whose newest book is a children’s picture book based on one of her early short stories), Lester Bird (former PM and officially designated National Hero who published his autobiography The Comeback Kid in 2019), Prince Ramsey (Doctor/HIV-AIDS awareness activist, calypso writer and producer who died in 2019) – one social media commenter said of Dr. Ramsey “I think he’s the most inspiring of them all”

9 – Short Shirt (most decorated Antiguan calypsonian; the Dorbrene O’Marde penned biography about him Nobody Go Run Me was longlisted for the 2015 Bocas prize)

8 –  Obstinate (undefeated calypso icon)

7 – tied –

Edris Bird (former resident tutor of the UWI Open Campus who in 2019 also became a Dame), Andy Roberts (bowler, first Antiguan and Barbudan to play for the West Indies Cricket team, knighted),

Winston Derrick (deceased host of Observer Radio’s Voice of the People and co-founder of Observer Media Group which transformed the media landscape and broadcast media especially after a legal battle for the right to broadcast that went all the way to the privy council and with its victory opened up the broadcast media door for others to enter)

6 – Alister Francis (late former principal of the Antigua State College, a groundbreaking tertiary institution of its time for Antigua and Barbuda and the eastern Caribbean)

5 – George Walter (Antigua and Barbuda’s second premier and former leader of the Antigua-Barbuda Workers Union; officially designated National Hero)

4 – Nellie Robinson (late former educator, founder of the TOR Memorial school which is credited with breaking down class/social barriers in Antigua and Barbuda, and officially designated a Dame and our only female National Hero)

3 – V. C. Bird (deceased; second president of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union, which is credited with boosting the voice and fortunes of Black and working class people in late colonial era Antigua and Barbuda, first Chief Minister, Premier, and Prime Minister – Father of the Nation, and first officially designated National Hero)

2 – Tim Hector (late pan African political activist; media pioneer – founder of the Outlet newspaper and writer of the Fan the Flame column; fighter for press freedom through his investigative reporting, and battles in and out of court including the privy council, arrests, and alleged arson; award winning journalist;  commentator on politics, culture, sports; and political candidate)

1 – Viv Richards (second Antiguan drafted to the West Indies cricket team, the only Windies captain never to have lost a Test, one of Wisden’s top five cricketers of the 20th century, and officially designated National Hero)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So a handful of artists made the top 10 which is always good to see. But I did wonder who were the top 10 artists in the poll overall, hence this second list. According to the same poll – but in reverse order – and highlighting only the arts side of their life – these are the top 10 artists among the Most Influential in Antigua and Barbuda of the  last 100 years or so…according to the voters in this particular social media poll:

1 –  Obstinate

2 –  Short Shirt

3 – tied – Prince Ramsey, Jamaica Kincaid

4 – tied – Swallow (who with Obsinate and Short Shirt make up the Big Three of Antiguan calypso, known especially for his road march hits), D. Gisele Isaac (writer, cultural critic, author of Considering Venus, The Sweetest Mango, No Seed), Burning Flames (iconic jam band)

5 – Barbara Arrindell (writer)

6 – Reginald Samuel (sculptor, national flag designer)

7 – Ralph Prince (writer)

8 – tied – Oscar Mason (musician, masquerade artist), Yvonne Maginley (musician, composer, Community Players), Dorbrene O’Marde (playwright, cultural critic and activist, calypso writer, novelist), Roland Prince (musician), Joseph ‘Calypso Joe’ Hunte (calypsonian), Marcus Christopher (calypso writer), Alister Thomas (mas designer and builder), Robin Margetson (pan composer, Panache founder – pan school and orchestra)

9 – tied – Stachel Edwards (musician), Rupert Blaize (singer), Wendel Richardson (musician, one of the founding members of Osibisa), John S. Laviscount (musician, founder of the island’s oldest band Laviscount Brass), Isalyn Richards (director of the combined schools choir), Winston Bailey (musician), Althea Prince (writer), Oliver Flax (writer, playwright), The Targets (music group), The National Choir, Shelly Tobitt (calypso writer known for many Antiguan and Barbudan top calypsos of the 70s and early 80s especially through his collaborations with Short Shirt e.g. classic albums Ghetto Vibes and Press On), Ivena (calypsonian, Antigua and Barbuda’s first and to date only female calypso monarch), Bertha Higgins (musician, involved with Antigua Artists Society, Hell’s Gate), Veronica Yearwood (Afro-Caribbean dancer and choreographer, founder of the Antigua Dance Academy), Zahra Airall (writer, award winning dramatist and playwright – Zee’s Youth Theatre, Honey Bee Theatre, Sugar Apple Theatre plus her work with Women of Antigua, poet, arts event producer – notably Expressions Open Mic, photographer), Hilda McDonald (writer)

10 – tied – Novelle Richards (writer), Conrad Roberts (actor)

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Apologies if I’ve offended anyone or breached protocol by leaving off all honorifics; that was a choice I made to leave off all instead of forgetting some as I am likely to do (better to have you mad at me for something I chose to do than for something I didn’t mean to do). All honorifics are, however, of course, acknowledged. Also acknowledged is that the named people have done much more than captured in my mini-bites. Some books are pictured in this post but remember to check our listing of Antiguan and Barbudan literature for books on or by any of the named influential Antiguans and Barbudans – if you’re looking specifically for biographies/autobiographies, scroll through the non-fiction list. Also, if someone’s picture is not included it’s because they’re not in the Wadadli Pen photo archives and time constraints didn’t allow for scouring the internet. Hopefully, that covers it – this is just FYI and for fun and I would encourage you to continue the conversation by sharing your picks for most influential Antiguans and Barbudans of the last 100 years or so (the or so is really 20th century forward to this year – I think those were the parameters).

As with all content on Wadadli Pen, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure/Perdida! Una Aventura en el Mar Caribe, and Oh Gad!). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on 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.

Marcus Christopher Tribute

Marcus Christopher will be laid to rest here in Antigua next Thursday (5^th March) during a service scheduled to begin (according to what’s been communicated to me by the family) at 2 p.m. at the Ebenezer Methodist church (with apologies, I got this wrong, the funeral date was actually Friday 6th February) – tributes should begin earlier than that. Here’s hoping the literary and musical community especially come out to show their support. I first met and interviewed Marcus in 2002. I recently had to dig up that article as his family gathered press reports on him in preparation for his funeral. I wanted to share the scan but the quality’s not that great and I haven’t had time to type up the article in full nor do I have an accessible Word copy of it (it might still be on floppy disks somewhere). But I’m taking some time this morning to type up some excerpts as I was determined to make this my Wadadli Pen Blog Post of the Week over on my facebook page because as song writer for some of the greats of local calypso music and the greatest of the greats, locally or otherwise, Short Shirt, Marcus was someone I knew before I knew him. In local calypso and literary circles, his legend as one of the pioneers of the art form was his calling card. I may have been a little intimidated when I first met him, but I found him to be a really cool dude, someone without airs, someone still very much active in the arts, still encouraging other artistes. My own personal anecdote is not so much the moment he showed up to the midnight launch of my book Oh Gad! but the phone call some weeks later, when he called to talk me through all the reasons he loved the book. It was surreal, as this is someone whose own craft, embedded in the Antiguan psyche, pre-dated me. However, him taking the time to reach out to another artiste was just him; he was just that kind of generous to other artistes. I remember when I reached out to writers to submit for the Antigua and Barbuda Tongues of the Ocean issue Marcus was not only one of the first to respond but gave me more than I could use (given how the publication is structured). Here’s hoping his 300 plus songs will soon be published per his dying wish. RIP, Marcus; and may your songs live on.

Excerpts from A Portrait of the Lyricist… (published in Observer’s 2002 Independence issue):

“Before Marcus Christopher started writing calypso lyrics, he was a trumpet player in various local bands. This musical background gifted him with the know-how to link poetry and melody to create winning tunes for the likes of Short Shirt, Canary, Latumba, and Zemakai…

“Christopher would go on to not only write tunes that helped to popularize the art form and make kings of mere men, he would help take calypso from its infancy to maturity as part of the calypso sub-committee for Carnival from the 1950s to the 1970s, the early days of Antigua’s Carnival.

“Today, he still writes abundantly, and has lyrics aplenty stored on his desktop computer and scribblings of unfinished pieces on scraps of paper around his home office; and he is still a big fan of the art form that drew him to put pen to paper.

“(about writing his first calypso) The year was 1953, and there was a bit of folklore, he said, about ‘a sort of phenomenon that happened that year. Somebody hued a mahogany tree and found the imprint of the crown going through the whole trunk. It was displayed at John and Francis Anjo. So in that song I mentioned something like that.’

“One of his first big tunes in the Carnival era was 1960’s ‘Slapping Hands’, sung by Canary. This told the story of a girl being tormented by invisible slapping hands, and reflected a much talked about, real life (depending on whether you believe that sort of thing or not) drama taking place in society. That and another Christopher tune, ‘Gem of the Caribbean’, of which he is very proud, took Canary all the way to the top of the Calypso heap that year.

“(Gem of the Caribbean excerpt) They rushing here in a haste/buying up land is a big race/so friends, you should understand/soon your romancing spots and things will be gone…so now you had better hold on to a piece/stake a claim, is the land where you born.’

“Canary’s name isn’t much bandied about today but he won the crown twice, 1960 and 1962, and was, said Christopher, his favourite artiste.

“He recalled in 1961 when Zemakai, who ultimately was crowned king that year, came to him for a song about Radio Antigua. ‘He said, ‘bossman’ [I want to do a song about Radio Antigua]. And I said, ‘what you want to do, you want to criticize them or you want to boost them?’ He say, ‘no man, I want to boost them. So we’re talking and I did it right there on the spot. I told him ‘I don’t have any chorus and I don’t want you to sing any chorus here.’ Because he didn’t have the best voice, right. I told him ‘what you going to do, you going to announce like the announcer. That thing went over so big… Zemakai was so good that night Canary got scared.

“No retelling of Marcus’ career, however, would be complete without a glimpse into the Short Shirt chapter…

“‘When he entered (first) he didn’t win,’ Christopher recalled. ‘But I heard this guy singing, you know, and I was impressed. So I spoke to him and told him that I thought he was quite good and I’m willing to help him out. I gave him a song the next year and he came second. A song called ‘Parasites’.’ His rankings improved, but he didn’t win right away. He claimed his first crown in 1964 with two Christopher tunes, ‘No Place Like Home’ and ‘Heritage’. The latter tune raised concerns about the lyrical content of the art form, a debate that still rages today.

“(Heritage excerpt) ‘I mean calypso is a noble art/in this culture, vulgarity shouldn’t have no part/it is a thing of which I am very proud/and when I sing, I respect the crowd/I am living now to make history…’

“His last big song for Short Shirt, 1970’s ‘Technical School’ challenged listeners to truly examine their fortunes, amidst economic advances, in the land of their home.

“(Technical School excerpt) ‘…when I think about places like Friars Hill/that’s the place I used to go/with my father to plant potato…we can boast of our own il refinery/but who are the big men that work down there/only foreigners/who are the technicians/only foreigners/who are the hewers of wood and carriers of water/local Antiguans…’

“He said, ‘I took them [calypsonians] from a stage where they never even got paid when they sang in elimination…All that stuff I had to fight.’

“…he’s proud of the gains he was able to help secure for the artistes. He is proud, too, of his role in elevating the spirit of competition with innovations like the Calypso King of the Caribbean competition, which attracted artistes from across the region.

“And though he is toying with the idea of compiling [his] works into book form for publication, he remains concerned about legislative protection locally for artistes’ work.”

I end on this quote because it illustrates that Christopher was still mindful of the work still to be done, not just for himself but for the art form; still.

Marcus Christopher accepting a copy of Nobody Go Run Me from Dorbrene O’Marde (Photo courtesy Colin Cumberbatch)

Me with Christopher at the Oh Gad! launch.

Launch photos by Eustace Samuel. Do not repost without permission; all rights reserved.

As with all content (words, images, other) 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,  Fish Outta Water, Oh Gad! and Burt Award finalist Musical Youth). All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed it, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about WadadliPen and my books. You can also subscribe to and/or follow the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks. And remember while linking and sharing the links, referencing and excerpting, with credit, are okay, lifting whole content (articles,  images, other) from the site without asking is not cool. Respect copyright.

A & B Writings in Journals, Showcases, and Contests (A – G)

This page has grown fairly quickly, so I’m breaking it up in to two pages. For H – N, go here, for O – T, go here, for U – Z, go here. and for books, go here. This is exclusively for creative pieces by Antiguans and Barbudans accepted to established literary journals, festivals (and other notable literary platforms), and contests (not pieces posted only to personal blogs) as I discover (and in some cases, re-discover) them. Primarily, the focus is on pieces accessible online (i.e. linkable) because those are easiest to find; but it is not limited to these. It is intended as a record of our publications and presentation of creative works beyond sole authored books. Naturally, I’ll miss some things. You can recommend (in fact, I welcome your recommendations), but, as with all areas of the site, additions/subtractions are at the discretion of the admin. 

AARON, GLENROY – ‘Summer One’ and ‘Coconut Man’ (visual art – painting) – Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

ADAMS, RILYS – Fictional Reality (fiction, 2011 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

AFLAK, ALLAN – (visual art – photography – also published in Alexis Andrews’ book Images in 2007) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

AIRALL, ZAHRA – – Island Expressions in St. Kitts – 2016

AIRALL, ZAHRA – The Looking Glass (fiction) – in Theorizing Homophobias in the Caribbean – Complexities of Place, Desire and Belonging – 2012

Excerpt: “They’d met at a conference in Mexico, she was from Dominica, and Laurie was instantly drawn to that thick French accent when Marie spoke.”

ANDREWS, ALEXIS – (visual art – photography) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

ANTONIA, MAKEIDA/WADADLI WRITER – Inner Child (poetry) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

ARMSTRONG, VEGA – Legend of the Sea Lords (fiction, 2012 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem – 2012 + Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

Excerpt: “Suddenly Freya dove under the water, the others quickly followed her. When they caught up with her they too saw the mysterious creature.”

ARRINDELL, BARBARA – Belonging to Barbuda (fiction) – Caribbean Feminist Stories, intersectantigua.com – 2020

ARRINDELL,  BARBARA – Scholarship Child (fiction, from her book The Legend of Bat’s Cave and Other Stories) – Interviewing the Caribbean (Caribbean Childhood: Traumas and Triumphs Part 2) edited by Opal Palmer Adisa – 2020

ARRINDELL, BARBARA – A LIFE, a spirit…a name  (fiction, subsequently published in 2017 anthology The Black Notes edited by Althea Prince) – Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

ARRINDELL, BARBARA – How Snake Stories became Anansi Stories (fiction, fable) – Womanspeak: A Journal of Writing and Art by Caribbean Women, Volume 7 – 2013

ARTHUR, ADE – Praying for her Nadleehi (fiction) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

AUGUSTUS, CARL – Isolation (visual art and poetry) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

AUGUSTUS, CARL – Live Free (visual art) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

AUGUSTUS, CARL – Take Flight (visual art and text) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

BARNES, SYLVANUS – Harp of Gold (poetry, from his book Barney’s Wit and Wisdom) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

BARTON, SHARON – ‘Evolution’ (visual art – designer gown, worn by Antigua Carnival Queen first runner-up Kimmorna Otto, which, in 2005, won best evening gown; it attempts to capture the colour and flow of reggae and calypso) and ‘Wild Orchid’ (visual art – designer gown worn in 2006 by Antigua Carnival Queen runner-up Charmaine Morgan) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

BATSON, NADIA – Expose (song lyrics, the Trinidad and Tobago singer/songwriter penned the tune for Antigua-Barbuda soca band El A Kru) – Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

BEAZER, CHATRISSE – The Legend of Banana Boy (fiction, 2011 award winning Wadadli Pen short story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

BENJAMIN, AKEILE – The Adventures of Mr. Coconut (fiction, 2012 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem – 2012

BENTA, VERDANCI – Boysie’s Fixed Account (fiction, 2005 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem – 2012

BROWN, MARK – ‘Jumbie’ and ‘Queen of the Band’ (visual art – painting) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

BROWNE, BRENDA LEE – Granny Cecelia’s Travelling Handbag – Womanspeak: A Journal of Art and Writing by Caribbean Women Volume 8 – 2016

BROWNE, BRENDA LEE – excerpt from London Rocks (fiction, published as a novel in 2017) in Moko: Caribbean Arts and Letters – 2015

Excerpt: “Dante’s mother asks if he is getting married as he smells as sweet as a bride and he had been getting ready since about 5pm – well since midday when he went to the barbers for a trim and a shape.”

BROWNE, BRENDA LEE – For my Father & Untitled (poetry) – Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

BROWNE, BRENDA LEE – Betty Sope – Womanspeak: A Journal of Writing and Art by Caribbean Women, Volume 7 – 2013

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Wee Willie Winkie (fiction, winner of the 2016 Marguerite Cobb-McKay Prize) – The Caribbean Writer Volume 29 – 2015

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Stabs in the Dark (fiction) – Akashic’s Mondays are Murder series – 2014

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Strange Fruit (fiction) – Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – No Frills, No Lace (fiction) – Poui: Cave Hill Journal of Creative Writing – 2014

Excerpt: “The director’s walk was ceremonious not in haste, perhaps from years of practice. He carried one hand lying in the other at the back of his buttocks and he went along with his head bowed.”

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Coo Yah (fiction) – Moko: Caribbean Arts and Letters (online Virgin Islands journal) – 2014

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Cocks, Hens, Dogs and Swine (fiction) – in St. Somewhere (online literary journal) – 2013

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – The Bird who saved his Food (fiction) – Anansesem (online Caribbean Children’s Literary Journal) – 2013

Excerpt: “Once upon a time an albatross got caught in a fisherman’s net that was spread out at sea.”

BROWNE-BANNISTER, TAMMI – Mango Belly and Mango Belly Part 2 (fiction) –  Anansesem (online Caribbean Children’s Literary Journal) – 2011

Excerpt: “He ate each and every kidney, tantalizing his classmates with every suck, pick, slurp and lick. Their mouths watered and their eyes followed the golden juices that gushed down his hands.”

BUTLER, LORINDA T. – Antigua Me Come From (poetry) – The Caribbean Writer, Volume 8 – 1994.

CADOGAN, DAVID – ‘Rasta Pan’ (visual art – painting) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

CHARLES, KENNELLA – Awaken to the Night – (fiction, 2005 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

CHRISTOPHER, MARCUS – Lyrical Sampler (calypso lyrics) – Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

DIXON, S A – (visual art – illustration for Market Day by Latisha Walker-Jacobs, award winning art and story in Wadadli Pen 2011 Challenge) + Cocos Nucifera (fiction, 2011 award winning Wadadli Pen short story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

DORAM, HEATHER – ‘Hope is on the Horizon’ (from The Pandemic series) 18 x 30 acrylic and mixed media on canvas, cover art w/ACalabash Poetry Portfolio-5 Curated by John Robert Lee – 2021

DORAM, HEATHER – Isolation 1 – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

DORAM, HEATHER – ‘Fusion’ (visual art – 20 x 36 inch mixed media on canvas, cover art w/The Other Daughter by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – Adda (Commonwealth Writers online literary platform) – 2017

DORAM, HEATHER – ‘Moonlight on Butterflies’, ‘Serenity’, and ‘Rightful Place’  (visual art – painting) –  Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

DORAM, HEATHER – ‘Spirit of Carnival’ (visual art – mixed media painting on felt, cover art capturing the colour, glitter, and masking of the Carnival season, and illustrating the mythical connection with the inner self that happens during Carnival) and ‘Mama Looka Mas!’ (visual art – painting); and ‘Genesis’ (used a metaphor for Carnival and life, worn in 1994 by Lesley-ann Brown) and ‘CARICOM Woman’ (exploring the concept of “us coming together as a people, as a region” worn in 1992 by Diana Horsford) and ‘Spirit of Africa’ (worn by 1993 Antigua Carnival Queen Charmaine Bailey) and ‘Lady in Red’ (worn by 1988 Antigua Carnival Queen Irma-Marie Senhouse) – (visual art – costumes with builder and husband Connie Doram). Additional costumes for Vitus mas troupe (a highlander costume, 1997’s ‘Cocks Crow’, 2000’s ‘Folktales’ including characters like Anancy in his spider’s web, and 2003’s ‘Peace and Love’ (the stiltwalker section High High High)) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

D’ORNELLAS, ANNALISA -Toes in the Sand (poetry, national contest selection) – 2009

Excerpt: “I was once a girl
that played on these shores.
I gathered the shells
in  bundles and scores.
I wore them on my neck
and strung some as bangles
I  noticed their twinkling
and delightful angles.”

ECKERT, DEBORAH – ‘Lornette and Oriane’ (visual art – painting) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

EDWARDS, GEORGE W. (AS TOLD TO JOHN H. JOHNSON) – Folklore from Antigua, British West Indies – Journal of American Folklore Vol. 34 No. 131 pp. 40-88 – Jan – March, 1921

Excerpt (from Johnson’s introduction): “The stories, riddles, and proverbs given in this collection were recited by George W. Edwards, a native of Greenbay, Antigua, British West Indies…George Edwards is a man fifty years old. In giving the bulk of this material, he exhibited unusual memory-power. Aside from prompting, suggestions, and riddles Nos. 34, 39, 42, 45, and 47, he alone is responsible for the entire collection. He has lived in New York for the past ten years. His greatest aid in recalling the stories has been his wife, who is about thirty years of age and also a native of Greenbay, Antigua. She is the informant of the five riddles mentioned above.”

EDWARDS, GEORGE W. (AS TOLD TO JOHN H. JOHNSON) – The Chosen Suitor from Folklore from Antigua, British West Indies, Journal of American Folklore Vol. 34 No. 131 – as reproduced in Bluebeard (ed. D. L. Ashliman) – 1999 -2014

Excerpt: “Dere’s a woman had one daughter an one son. Dis boy coco-bay, boy, an’ he was an’ ol’ witch too.”

EDWARDS, SHAKEEMA – Diaspora & That Laugh (poetry)- Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014

EDWARDS, SHAKEEMA – The Curse of the Kumina (fiction, 2011 award winning Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem (Best of Wadadli Pen Special Issue) – 2011

EVANSON, TANYA – Poetry Africa (Durham, South Africa) – 2018

EVANSON, TANYA – performs at the 8th Word N Sound International Youth Poetry Festival in Newtown Johannesburg – 2018

EVANSON, TANYA – @ Ubud Writers and Readers Festival – 2016

EVANSON, TANYA – Temple Exercises as feature poet at Vancouver Slam – 2016

EVANSON, TANYA – GRIOTS OF ALL TIME – live spoken word @ The Club, The Banff Centre, Banff AB Canada / 2014 Spoken Word Program

EVANSON, TANYA – Word Aloud Festival (Durhan, Canada) – 2014

EVANSON, TANYA – Mundo Gumbo – Canadian Festival of Spoken Word – 2013

EVANSON, TANYA – Apocalypsiata (poetry) – Womanspeak: A Journal of Art and Writing by Caribbean Women, Volume 7 – 2013

Excerpt: “Soon there’ll be nothing left to burn/books, beds, bodies on the Barbie”

EVANSON, TANYA – reading/performing at Calgary Spoken Word Festival – 2013.

EVANSON, TANYA – reading/performing (including “An-teee-ga”) at the Calgary Spoken Word Festival – 2012

Excerpt: “Let me tell you bout that place/in Caribbean/clear blue water/sand sat between your toes/in hot sun/and the people/my people/and not my people/Antigua” (An-teee-ga)

EVANSON, TANYA – Zamizdat Scat at Calgary Spoken Word Festival – 2011

EVANSON, TANYA – Dervish Weaponry (poetry, from the 2008 CD Memorists) – on Badilisha Poetry X-Change – 2008

FARARA, JAN – ‘Steel and Sparkle’, ‘Rhythm at Sunset’, ‘Carnival Pride’, and ‘Carnival Stilts’ (visual art – paintings) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

GEORGE, GEMMA – Stray Dog prepares for the Storm – (fiction, 2004 award winnin g Wadadli Pen story) – Anansesem (the Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

GEORGE, LINISA – The Rebellion (poetry) – intersectantigua.com – 2020

GEORGE, LINISA – In the Closet (poetry) – BBC Poetry Postcards series – 2014.

GEORGE, LINISA – Brown Girl in the Ring (poetry, theatrical monologue) – performed during the CARA Festival, Antigua – 2009 + published in the World Record (a publication of global artistes invited to perform at the 2012 Poetry Parnassus staged to coincide with the 2012 Olympics) +  Tongues of the Ocean (special issue – Artists and Writers of Antigua and Barbuda edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse) – 2014 + featured in the Charlotte Caribbean Festival, and, 2015, in the Shakespeare festival in the Bahamas.

GONSALVES, GAYLE – Miss Ellie (fiction) – Tongues of the Ocean – 2014

Excerpt: ‘Ellie points to England, a land that is far from the Caribbean Sea, and smiles at her daughter, “This is where it all started.”’

GORDON, CAROL – ‘Ancestral Call’, ‘Dance’, ‘Friend’, and ‘Nubian’ (visual art – painting) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

GORDON, ORIQUE – The Lost Coin (fiction, 2011 award winning Wadadli Pen short story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

GRANT, DEBESHA – Blue Mountain Hike (fiction, 2005 award winning Wadadli Pen short story) – Anansesem (Wadadli Pen special issue) – 2011

GREGORY, JAMILA – ‘Bird of Paradise’ (visual art – costume design intended as a play on the word ‘Bird’, depicting the flower ‘Bird of Paradise’ and also the bird ‘The Great Bird of Paradise’. It was the first costume to ever to be presented on stilts in the pageant’s history. It was built by Johnson Browne, Jamila Gregory, and the Vitus Mas Troupe. Gregory, the 2006 Carnival Queen, won the costume segment of the Antigua Carnival Queen competition) – in Carnival is All We know: an Anthology Celebrating 50 Years of Antigua’s Carnival and the Creativity of Our Writers & Artists (edited by Joanne C. Hillhouse and published as a supplement in the Daily Observer) – 2007

GRESHAM, SARAH-ANNE – Generation Cry (non-fiction) – in intersectantigua.com – 2020

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, Musical Youth, Oh Gad!, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, and The Jungle Outside). All Rights Reserved. Please do not repost artist images without permission and credit. If you enjoyed this post, check out my Jhohadli  page and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen, my books, and my freelance writing-editing-coaching-workshop services. You can also subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Antiguan and Barbudan song writers

The cover of the Calypso Association 50th anniversary magazine on which I had the privilege of working as editor.

As with the playwrights and screenwriters, the listing of Calypso song writers may will take a good long while, building sloooowly over time as I gather information and as I find time to upload the information I already have. Part of the challenge is that while we know the names of the artistes, the writers often exist somewhere in the wings, out of the spotlight (sometimes deliberately so). Often, even today, there are no liner notes (a pet peeve of mine since well-written liner notes enhance the listening experience for me). So, more than any of my lists, this one promises to be a challenge. In a number of cases, I’m not 100% sure about the songwriting credits (so if anyone knows, for sure – i.e. with proof, please email wadadlipen@yahoo.com). I think Antigua and Barbuda has produced some classic calypsos (and noteworthy songs in other genres) and they dripped from somebody’s pen; and those guys and gals deserve a bit of the spotlight, wouldn’t you say?

Davidson ‘Bankers’ Benjamin – Bankers’ popular tracks include ‘Me D Ras’ and ‘Fire go bun Dem’ which won him the Antigua Calypso Monarch crown in 1996. He’s also popular for the songs he did with Dread and the Baldhead (‘Motorbike’, ‘Do You wanna rock some more’ etc.) in the 1990s and for songs like ‘Pulling Me’ on the Sweetest Mango [film] soundtrack.

Boasta (Tario Philip) – Old Time Something (2015).

Muerah ‘Mighty Artist’ Bodie His calypsos are known for their double entendre (read: alternate lewd interpretation), earning the most humorous prize in competition a time or two. His songs include ‘Vitamins and Iron’, ‘Tarpan Tone Up’, ‘Woman Working Under Man’, ‘Me Ole Wife’, ‘Pot Hole’, ‘Business Dead’, ‘Clap You Tongue’, and others. He’s been singing since 1972.

Marcus Christopher– over 300 calypsos written: incuding several which won the Calypso Monarch competition like Short Shirt’s ‘Carnival on the Moon’ (1969), ‘Beatles MBE’ (1965), ‘No Place Like Home’ (1964) and ‘Heritage’ (1964), ‘Technical School’ (1971), ‘Black Like Me’ (1971); Zemakai’s ‘Tribute to Radio Antigua’ and ‘Fidel Castro’ (1961); King Canary’s ‘Gem of the Caribbean’ and ‘Slapping Hands’ (1960) and ‘Island People Names’ and ‘Immigration Bill’ (1962). Also many that while not winners are memorable, such as Short Shirt’s ‘Parasites’ (1963) and ‘Anguilla Crisis’ (1969) and Sleepy’s ‘Under the Carpet’. Christopher died in 2015.

Toriano ‘Onyan’ Edwards – One fourth of the original groundbreaking Antiguan jam/soca band Burning Flames and later a solo act and four time calypso monarch (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000); Onyan has attracted controversy for lyrics deemed offensive by some (I for instance wrote an article critical of 2012’s ‘Kick een she back doh‘- loved by fans who assured it the road march win, and decried by women’s groups) and not for the first time; anyone remember such classics as ‘Man fu Whorehouse’ and ‘Baby Food’ off the Baby Food album? But with songs like ‘Crazy Man’, ‘Old Fire Stick’, ‘Life in the Ghetto’, ‘Nice and Slow’ and even the named controversial songs he remains  a crowd favourite and road march winner.

Mclean ‘Short Shirt’ Emmanuel – The Calypso Hall of Famer is celebrated as The Monarch (subject of the documentary film The Making of the Monarch  and of the book Nobody Go Run Me – long-listed for the 2015 Bocas prize) as the 15 time Calypso Monarch (’64, ’65, ’66, ’69, ’70, ’72, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’79, ’80, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’92) of Antigua and Barbuda; in addition to being a multiple title holder in both the Road March and Caribbean Calypso King categories. Check out this article on his 1976 album, Feeling the Ghetto Vibes. Also scroll down for the Shelly Tobitt entry.

Fd – The official pseudonym of a songwriter who provided evidence of his contribution to Antiguan calypso (as I hope other songwriters will do so that I can continue to build this data base). Those contributions include social commentaries  –  ‘True Antiguan’ (2011), ‘Forward Together’, ‘Share The Honey’ (1992), ‘Heaven Help Mankind’ (1993), ‘How Could I Sit Back’ , ‘Tell The Truth’; and party tunes – ‘Push Back You Bam Bam/Jennifer’ (1987), ‘Taste The Honey/Taste It’ (2011), ‘After Midnight’ (1983), ‘Get It Up’, ‘Champion’ (1987) & ‘Angela’ (1987) – all performed by King Short Shirt. Other Fd songs: ‘The Party’, ‘Give me a Beer’, ‘Rolling Back’, ‘That’s How I Like It’, ‘Wire Waist’, ‘Stay out of Politics’, ’25 Years’, ‘Good Advice’, ‘Love Me Up’, ‘Shake de Booty’, ‘Push Wood’, ‘Selfish Man’ (1983), and ‘Rub Your Body (1983)’.

Stanley Humphreys – a frequent Short Shirt collaborator beginning with 1980s Summer Festival album, continuing wtih 1981’s Dance with Me Album including songs like ‘Nationalism’ and ‘We have got to Change’, and ongoing; also in 1981 ‘Pledge’ (as confirmed by the artiste himself).

Joseph ‘Calypso Joe’ Hunte – His classic ‘Bum Bum” became, in 1970, the first homegrown winner of the Antigua and Barbuda calypso road march title. Other well known tracks composed and (I believe) written by Joe include: 1971’s ‘Educate the Youths’ and ‘Recorded in History’ with which he won the Calypso Monarch crown;   ‘War’, ‘A Nation to Build, A Country to Mould’, and 1972’s ‘Life of a Negro Boy’.

Tameka Jarvis-George is a novelist and poet who continues to cross boundaries by mixing genres such as when she converted her poem Dinner into a short film of the same name. Her lyrics for Naki’s ‘Talking in Tongues’ on the Tin Pan Riddim is another example.

Oglivier ‘Destroyer’ Jacobs  has written for both himself and his son Leston ‘Young Destroyer’ Jacobs. Destroyer Sr. has never won the crown, though he came close in 1971 and 1989 winning the first runner-up spot. His written songs include 1967’s ‘Bring Back the Cat-o-Nine’, 1989’s ‘Discrimination’ and ‘Message from Gorkie’, ‘Back of de Bus’ (sung by his son and winner of best social commentary in 2006),

Accepting a National Vibes Star Project Award

‘Woodpecker Sarah’, ‘Jail Cart’, ‘Country Running Good’, ‘All Fool’s Day’, ‘Beg Georgie Pardon’, ‘Ah Wha Me Do You’, ‘Can’t Smile ‘Bout That’, ‘Ah Wonder Who Do Dis’, and many others.

King Zacari

Trevor ‘King Zacari’ King  (pictured above, performing)- The 1991 and 2001 monarch began writing for juniors in the early 1990s (e.g. ‘The Zulu Will Rise Again’ performed by Pepperseed) before entering the arena with his own tracks among which can be counted ‘Black Rights’, ‘Guilty of Being Black’, ‘Fine Ants’ (2001), ‘Guilty as Charged’ etc.

Logiq (Vincent Pryce) – A rapper whose discography includes tracks like ‘Sometimes‘, ‘Intimidation‘, and ‘All 4 Love‘.

Menace (Dennis Roberts) – ‘Old Time Something‘ and ‘ Sand to the Beach ‘ (2015).

Kobla ‘Promise No Promises’ Mentor – This Guyana born singer-songwriter broke through in Antigua with his behind the scenes contributions (as co-writer) on the 2003 Wanski hit (‘More Gyal‘) before claiming the so/calypso spotlight the following year with hits like ‘Can’t Stop My Carnival’ and ‘Pon de Move’; 2010’s ‘Do Good‘, 2011’s ‘Her Drums‘, and 2014’s ‘Draw we out‘are among his more recent offerings.

Lesroy Merchant – His songwriting is referenced in this obituary/tribute but details of the specific songs remain elusive. RIP. ETA: “Lesie wrote mainly for Franco, as a matter of fact, it was Lesie who introduced me to Franco and tried to get me to write songs for him. I was very busy at that time hence Lesie wrote the songs for Franco and many times he would have me look at them and asked for my input. May he rest in peace.” – William Shelly Tobitt in the comments below the post ‘Press On’

Justin ‘JusBus’ Nation – He’s written and produced songs and remixes for many artistes including himself with his 2015 J. Nation CD (‘Vertigo’, ‘Hard Work’, ‘Sometimes I’, ‘Blasting Away’ etc.)

Dorbrene O’Marde – song listing requested. Dorbrene is also the publisher of Calypso Talk magazine and the author of the Short Shirt biography Nobody Go Run Me.

The Mighty Bottle (Percival Watts) – ‘Fungi’, ‘Dive Dung Low’, ’10 Bag a Sugar’.

Rupert ‘Littleman’ Pelle – Winning Junior Calypso titles during an uninterrupted eight year run: ‘Parenting’, ‘Prostitution’, and ‘Wadadli Children’ sung and won by Lady Challenger (pictured left, above), 2000-2002; ‘Jump & Wave’, ‘Aunty Esther Say’ sung and won by Princess Thalia (2003-2004); and ‘Train Us Up’, ‘T. N. Kirnon Say’, and ‘Thank You Icons’ sung and won by Lyricksman (2005-2007). – Junior calypso record courtesy a facebook post by Trevaughn ‘Lyricks Man’ Weston on Littleman’s passing in December 2020. Also, ‘Riot 68’ for Latumba – first song when he was still performing as Deceiver (1968) and ‘From Statehood to Independence’ for Prince Jasbo (1978), along with songs for Daddy Iko, Calypso Farmer, Baby Eve and many other junior calypsonians.

Swallow

Rupert ‘Swallow’ Philo – ‘Raphael Trujillo‘ (1961), ‘Party in Space’, ‘Man to Man’, ‘Dawn of a New Day’, ‘We Marching’, ‘Subway Jam’, ‘One Hope One Love One Destiny’, ‘Don’t Stop this Party’, ‘Fire in De Backseat’, and more as chronicled here. With Short Shirt and Obstinate, he is considered one of the big three of Antiguan calypso and a legend in his own right. King Swallow died in 2020. RIP.

Quarkoo –

Quarkoo, circa 1942. (Museum of Antigua and Barbuda archival photo)

“The dominant form of popular music in Antigua [up to arouund 1950] was ‘Benna’. The main proponent at the time was a strolling minstrel John ‘Quarkoo’ Thomas.” – P. 20, King Short Shirt: Nobody Go Run Me by Dorbrene O’Marde. Listed among his songs – ‘Maude Smell Donkey’ and 1924’s ‘Man Mongoose, dog know your ways’; 1943’s ‘Yes, it is more than tongue can tell…’

Sir Prince Ramsey is a family physician by profession, an HIV/AIDS activist by choosing, a calypso lyricist and producer by calling. He has produced more than 45 calypso albums and written over 100 songs since 1979 for artistes like King Obstinate, Rupert ‘Baba’ Blaize (‘In Antigua’), Onyan (‘Stand up for Antigua’ – 1998 Calypso Monarch winner), De Bear (‘My Allegiance’ – 2003 Calypso crown winner; and ‘Man is Nothing but Dust’ – 2007 Leeward Islands calypso competition winner), Zero (‘Protect Yourself’ – 2002 Calypso Monarch winner), De Empress (‘We don’t want it here’ and ‘Power of a Woman’ – 2000 Queen of Calypso crown winner), Blade (‘The Brink’ – 2008 Carnival Development Committee winner for best writer and best calypso), and others (about 50 artistes in all). Dr. Ramsey died in 2019. RIP.

Paul ‘King Obstinate’ Richards – The Undefeated is the creator of such classic gems as 1980’s ‘Believe‘, ‘Children Melee’, ‘Always come back to You’, ‘Antigua’s True Heroes’, ‘Got a little Something  for  You’, ‘Coming down to Talk to You’ (1982), ‘Hungry’, ‘Shiny Eyes’, ‘Who kill me Sister?’ (1985), ‘I already Talk to you’ (1992), ‘All of Self‘ (1993), ‘Ready to Go‘ (1996), as well as ‘Wet You Hand’, ‘Gold Rush’, and ‘Is Love a Love You’.

King Obstinate

Shelly Tobitt – Arguably Antigua and Barbuda’s best songwriter in the calypso arena, especially at his height in the 1970s during his winning partnership with the country’s most lauded calypso icon The Monarch King Short Shirt. It’s important to define Shelly’s partnership with his cousin and frequent collaborator Short Shirt. “Shelly wrote, virtually everything. He also provided ‘base’ melodies. Short Shirt either fine-tuned the melodies or created new ones based on his singing abilities or his own melodic instincts and he helped shape musical arrangements. He also provided a grounding of Shelly’s lyrics. Shelly was the poet, prone to flights of fancy and fantasy. Short Shirt pulled him back, opting for the ghetto slang or the dialect expression in phrase or sentence.” – p. 81 – 82, Nobody Go Run Me by Dorbrene O’Marde. Among the songs they did together are ‘Lamentation’ in 1973; ‘Lucinda’ in 1974; the songs on 1975’s Pan Rhapsody album – ‘Pan Rhapsody’, ‘Cry for Change’, ‘Awake’, ‘Antigua’, ‘Miss Yvette’, ‘Leh We Go’, ‘Vengeance’, ‘Lead On’, and ‘Come J’ouvert’; the tracks on the classic Ghetto Vibes album of 1976 – ‘Carnival ’76’, ‘Inspite of All’, ‘When’, ‘Tourist Leggo’, ‘Nobody Go Run Me’, ‘Power & Authority’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Vivian Richards’, ‘Hands off Harmonites’, and ‘No Promises’; ‘Rock and Prance’ in 1977, ‘Jammin’ and ‘Gently on my Mind’ in 1978,  ‘Press on‘ the title track for an album that included songs like ‘Viva Grenada’  and ‘What You Going to do’ in 1979, and ‘HIV/AIDS’ and ‘Fyah’ in 1988. Tobitt’s discography also includes:  Latumba’s ‘Culture Must be Free’ and ‘Liberate Your Mind’ in 1979, Chalice’s ‘Show Me Your Motion‘ (1981), King Progress’ ‘You getting it‘ (1984), Figgy’s ‘Look what they’ve done to my song‘ (1998), ‘Benna’ (2011). ETA: “I am the writer and arranger of my works and provide everything needed to realize a complete production. Back then, before I could write the musical parts for the musicians I needed an arranger to do so, but it was my arrangements that they wrote. I sat with and instructed every arranger I worked with how I wanted the songs, and what rifts and motifs to write.” – William Shelly Tobitt in the comments section below the post ‘Press On’

Cuthbert ‘Best’ Williams

Cuthbert ‘Best’ Williams with Queen Ivena

has written winning tunes for Antiguan monarchs Smarty Jr. (who won the crown in 1993, 1994, 1995 with ‘Never Again’, ‘Role of the Calypsonians’, ‘What Black Power Means’, ‘Cry for Change’, ‘Draw the Line’ and ‘Follow the Leader’) and Ivena (who won the monarch crown 2003, 2004, 2005 with ‘Robin Hood in Reverse’, ‘Ivena’s Agenda’, ‘After Lester’, ‘Reparation for Africa’, ‘What Did Castro Say’, and ‘Don’t Pressure Me’; and the  Queen of Calypso crown in 2001 – 2005 with ‘Old Road Fight’, ‘Save Ms. Calypso’, ‘I’m Angry’, ‘Remember the Pledge’, and the other named songs).

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, Oh Gad!, Fish Outta Water, and Musical Youth). All Rights Reserved. Seriously, a lot of time, energy, love and frustration goes in to researching and creating content for this site; please don’t just take it up just so without even a please, thank you or an ah-fu-she-subben (credit). 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.