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It is now almost forty years since David Dabydeen published his first creative work - a collection of poetry entitled Slave Song (1984) - which won both the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and the Quiller-Couch Prize. Since then there have been two further collections of poetry: Coolie Odyssey (1988) and the long narrative poem Turner (1994), as well as seven novels. Dabydeen''s first novel, The Intended, was published in 1991, followed by Disappearance (1993), The Counting House (1996), A Harlot''s Progress (1999), Our Lady of Demerara (2004), Molly and the Muslim Stick (2008) and Johnson''s Dictionary (2013). Like his first collection of poetry, several of his novels have attracted critical acclaim and awards. The Intended won the Guyana Prize for Literature in 1992; The Counting House was shortlisted for the 1998 Dublin Literary Prize; A Harlot''s Progress was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and also a winner of the Guyana Prize for Literature; and Our Lady of Demerara won Dabydeen''s third Guyana Prize for Literature in 2004. Like Diamonds From Dirt contains a collection of scholarly articles that have been designed to give some insights into different aspects of Dabydeen''s fictional writing. The essays range in content from a newly commissioned article which takes us back to Dabydeen''s first poetry publication, Slave Song, to essays on three of his most popular novels. The second part of Like Diamonds From Dirt shifts focus away from critical analyses of Dabydeen''s writing to a more intimate look behind the works through the transcripts of three interviews with the author himself. Their diverse range of topics serves to highlight the fact that his often provocative style of fictional writing will surely continue to challenge the reader and critic alike.

In British Guiana in the 1960s, a forbidden love story bloomed amid societal expectations and entrenched prejudices. Merle, an Indian-Guyanese girl, and Aubrey, an African-European-Guyanese boy, dared to cross the lines that divided their communities. Bound by an invisible thread, they navigated the turbulent waters with a fierce desire to be together. They eventually left their homeland and found solace in the vast embrace of Canada. Here, they vowed their hearts to each other and built a life together, raising two daughters. Their love story transcends time and distance, whispered on the wings of letters that bridged the miles when Aubrey''s work took him to the sands of Saudi Arabia. These heartfelt missives become a testament to the enduring power of love, a silent symphony played across continents, weaving a melody of longing, resilience and unwavering devotion. Merle''s poignant memoir is not just a love story; it is a love letter to her husband and a celebration of their life together. It is a powerful reminder that love knows no boundaries, no matter the distance or the societal constraints. In the fading ink of Aubrey''s letters, we hear his longing, his pride in their daughters and his unshakeable love for his wife. This story will resonate with anyone who has ever dared to love beyond boundaries and is a testament to the unwavering spirit of two souls who defied the odds and wrote their own love story, one letter, one memory, one heartbeat at a time. Merle recollects that, while on vacation in India, Aubrey had secretly bought a painting she had admired in a local shop. She remembers saying, ''Love, you are always buying me such beautiful things.'' Aubrey simply shrugged his shoulders and replied, ''You know, if possible, I''ll buy you heaven.''

Ixora Mara invites her only friend Suzie to her seventh birthday party and Suzie promises to come. But Suzie does not come. Instead, she disappears from Peaside Pasture. When Ixora fixates on Suzie s empty house across the street, wondering where Suzie has gone, she feels a sensation like a burst lime spreading through her body, turning her sour. As she spends the next two decades of her life staring at Suzie''s empty house and waiting for Suzie to return, Ixora struggles to slow the lime juice from engulfing her body - her sour house. Must she forever be a walking lime? Or when others start disappearing from Peaside, can Ixora control her sour long enough to single-handedly fight back at the thing she calls The Miaplambo?

Dr Maurice Odle''s professional life as an academic and senior national, regional and international civil servant intersected with the clash of two powerful economic forces, namely the economic nationalism of the underdeveloped world and the profit maximising operations of foreign transnational corporations. While developing countries, in recent decades, have significantly increased their capacity for dealing with foreign investment issues and the nexus areas of international trade, finance and transfer of technology, the West has frustrated them in their efforts to bring about fundamental change in international economic relations and in the neo-liberal rules of the game. For example, the United Nations initiative(s) of the developing countries with respect to a New International Economic Order (relating mainly to trade) fell apart by the end of the 1970s; intensive negotiations on a Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations were abandoned in the early1990s; and negotiations with

Stories about Indian indenture often resonate with suffering and shame. The system that was introduced in the 1830s to replace slavery across the British Empire came with its share of hardship. Yet, there is the story of one man who sheds a different light on this episode of British and Mauritian history. Mauritius in the early twentieth century was an emerging nation, with different peoples looking to forge a sense of identity and belonging. It was a country built by immigrants who faced countless challenges. And amid all of this, one individual stood out from the rest. The story of Dookhee Gungah is about a man''s rise from poverty and misfortune to become a symbol of hope and benevolence for the community. His success was more than personal for the people whose lives he touched also benefitted. As the son of an Indian indentured labourer, his achievements are truly unique across the entire indentureship diaspora, and his influence reached far beyond the shores of Mauritius. He made

A young man arrived in Liverpool from Nigeria around 1915, expecting to find the streets paved with gold. The Dingle area of Toxteth he settled in was instead depressed, poor, racist, and to his mind, ungodly. In 1931, he founded the African Churches Mission, in which he not only conducted services but also fed and clothed the poor of the community, and housed seamen and others denied accommodation due to the colour of their skin. He also provided a home for the unwanted children of local white women left behind by their fathers, African American servicemen who returned home when World War II ended. As a radical supporter of pro-independence and anti-racist movements in the African Diaspora, he was regarded as troublesome by the Establishment, and therefore received no state or voluntary support, not even from the Anti-Slavery Society. Nevertheless, he and his mission soldiered on for over thirty years, until the dilapidated building was finally demolished by the Council in 1964. Usin

In Volume One of his memoirs, Dr Yesu Persaud wrote movingly about his family and their struggles both during and after the abolition of the indentureship system that had first brought them to what was then British Guiana. In Volume Two, he continues the story of his life from the mid-1970s, and provides a fascinating view of his business and professional life, as well as his philanthropy. Entwined with this story is a more personal account which gives a deeper insight into Dr Persaud''s private life amongst family and friends. Even in the face of adversity, his candour and strong sense of humour always shine through. Alongside his personal life, he gives an enthralling and detailed account of the political landscape of Guyana over the past seven decades. Never afraid to speak his mind, Dr Persaud weaves his own narrative alongside that of a broader, nationwide perspective, providing the reader with a highly personal insight into many of the country''s key political events. His detailed

In Black Light Void: Dark Visions of the Caribbean, Marsha Pearce curates a collection of paintings and short stories to explore sensations of place and identity. The anthology casts tropical place in a different light, going beyond what island sunlight renders visible - beyond what we already know, or think we know - to a space in which the imagination offers illumination. The book makes an argument for seeing the Caribbean in the dark. Expanding the discourse on opacity, it proposes darkness as a critical space for Caribbean aesthetic practices; darkness as a space that resists easy, transparent readings of the Other. Pearce asks: What stories lie beyond those experiences lit up by the sun - the light that is a defining feature of the tropics? Through a dialogic presentation of work by Trinidadian contemporary visual artist Edward Bowen, and short stories by Trinidadian, award-winning writers Kevin Jared Hosein, Barbara Jenkins, Sharon Millar, Amèlcar Sanatan, Portia Subran and Eliz

As a young student in Pakistan, he took his first steps into the world of journalism at the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore. He later joined the Times of Karachi before leaving for England in 1960. It was in London that he studied computerised photo-composition at the London College of Communication, and also completed courses in subediting at the Polytechnic of Central London and one run by the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Nisar worked for many years as a Reader at The Times and The Sunday Times and later progressed to sub-editor. To break the monotony of a 9-5 working life, he became a freelance sub-editor and worked on many London-based publications including The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, South London Press, Marketing Week, Health Service Journal, The Times Higher Education Supplement, Middle East Online, South Magazine, TV Times, TV World, The Doctor, The Voice, Daily Awaaz, Wandsworth Independent and Ealing Gazette. Nisar values th

Since the poem was first published in 1994, it has been subject to a significant level of critical debate and discussion which continues to the present day. The aim of this book is to bring together a selection of the many articles that have engaged with the poem, and to show how they explore its relationship to the events depicted in the painting. Edited with an Introduction by Lynne Macedo, The Hook of Desire contains eleven articles - three of which were specially commissioned for this book - that examine Dabydeen''s work from a number of different perspectives. Some are comparative, considering ''Turner'' alongside other fictional responses to the infamous Zong incident, whilst others focus on the work''s intertextuality or its exploration of the transformative nature of the sea. A recurrent theme - highlighted by the poem''s fragmentary nature - is the inability of language to represent trauma, or to escape from the influence of past representations. In the present political climate w

It features the first great anti-slavery revolution in Haiti, and the towering figure of Toussaint L''Ouverture from birth. It is, above all, the story of the indigenous and enslaved people of Haiti and the indigenous people of Mexico through turbulent times. Gold, Greed and Insurgency is part of a trilogy that is: A history that is long overdue, a different kind of history that casts a mirror on the invaders through the lives of varied and fascinating characters and their rich dialogue. A history of peoples with a culture hewn over thousands of years until destructive invaders came. A history that helps to explain how the profit-hungry and powerful in humanity ended up causing a climate emergency in the 21st century In Haiti, we follow the extraordinary history of the indigenous Taino people from the arrival of Columbus to their alliance with freed slaves to take on and defeat both the French and the British navies with sticks and hoes to achieve a revolution. In Mexico, we experienc

ARTHUR FRANCE is someone that the establishment would prefer to keep hidden from British history. But he has made history, and this book explains how and why. He was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Nevis and arrived in Leeds in the north of England in 1957. He soon began to organise members of the local Caribbean community into a united force for social progress and was awarded an MBE in 1997. But Arthur France is best known as the founder of the first Black-led Caribbean Carnival in Europe. This was in Leeds in 1967, but his idea for carnival was not merely sequins and feathers for him, Carnival was a symbol of Emancipation and a vehicle for changing people s lives. If Leeds is now a city that embraces diversity, it is in no small part due to Arthur France and his brothers and sisters in struggle. In telling Arthur''s story, author Max Farrar also reflects upon the struggle for justice and equality led by so many members of Britain s Black and Brown communities. It provides the context of violent racism, including the white riots in London''s Notting Hill, the relentless provocation towards their own self-defence, and the growth of the Black Power movement. This remarkable man s life story is a poignant narrative about race in post-war Britain. An APPENDIX provides a detailed history of St Kitts and Nevis from the first colonial settlement in 1624 up to independence, which was achieved on 19 September 1983.

This represents the first of three novels on history''s forgotten or too little remembered people, including in particular the indigenous people of Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, Haiti and Mexico. It is a history of peoples living lives in communities for thousands of years until invaders come; a history that is long overdue; a history from the perspective of the invaded and the enslaved; a history that looks very different from the norm, casting a sinister mirror on the invaders. From Congo to Mocambo to Samba starts with the beginnings of the Portuguese empire from 1487, how people experienced Portuguese Armadas marauding up the east coast of Africa and their attacks on various ports and coastal stretches. From South African oral history we see how the Khoisan lived from 1487, and how they experienced and responded to unexpected European visitors. In India we see the tragic impact on locals as the Portuguese Armadas continue their negotiation by cannon fire. We see, too, the Armadas impact on people living on the East African coast. In Brazil, Haiti and in Khoisan and Bantu areas in Africa, we discover the people and their lifestyle, and their interaction with invading Europeans, and we see in Brazil in particular the emergence of Tupi and free-slave communities, which become pivotal to the development of Brazilian culture. In South Africa, we discover Hangklip, a free slave community, which emerges after the Dutch importation of enslaved Africans. Much of the novel''s second half is part an allegory for the overwhelming desire of enslaved people for freedom.

Angry with their religions and the wrongdoings of so many clerics, two young people decide to address the status quo. Set in Trinidad and Tobago''s capital, Port-of-Spain, Nathan John and Miriam Suielman seek to attract many others to their cause and come up with the notion to stage and host a conference. The resulting event, entitled Conference of the Un-Godly, draws participants from across the globe. In this cauldron of religious fervour, a spotlight is not only turned upon the abuses within the church but also the subject of religion as a whole. And it is within this arena that ''sinners'' and ''saints'' alike bare their souls. For Nathan and Miriam, the conference is an illuminating spectacle. They had arrived as unknowns, but their overnight success has created a demand for them from organisations the world over.

Carl Wright has devoted his entire working life to global action through grass roots activism and international diplomacy. During the past fifty years he engaged with world leaders and political icons from across the globe, including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Indira Gandhi, Julius Nyerere, Shridath Ramphal, Fidel Castro, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ban Ki-Moon, Cyril Ramaphosa, Helen Clark and Bob Hawke. In these and many other encounters, he reflects his experiences of, ''What it was like to be there,'' as he puts it. Having made official visits to some 100 countries - from developed to developing nations, to fragile states and countries undergoing democratic transition - he has seen first-hand what is required to implement good governance. These high-level missions included most of the 54 nations of the Commonwealth, along with some of the world''s least visited countries, such as Moldova, Myanmar and South Sudan. Written from the perspective of a grassroots activist, Commonwealth diplomat and local government leader, these recollections provide rare insights into the relationships between inter-governmental organisations, global associations of mayors and trade unions, and the effects of political and social advocacy. In his writing he draws extensively on his experiences of working in the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the European Union at senior level. Perhaps most significant is his long-standing involvement with the anti-apartheid struggle, and he recalls with great sensitivity the many challenges he and others faced. Carl Wright''s personal and candid book delivers a critical message: the need for global understanding and co-operation. With the rise of political populists, authoritarian strongmen and violent extremists, he implores us to strengthen fragile international relations and mitigate the threat of conflict which is currently real and ever-present. In her Foreword, Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, says: ''His record in actively promoting internationalism over fifty years ... makes for inspiring reading.''

Leadership culture is like a multi-layered quilt spun with strands of human DNA, conditioning and habits. And this book deals with the differences, perspectives, priorities, human nature and cultures that are as variable as the cells in the human body. Many leaders, and prospective leaders, confuse personality with the job and think of their team as underlings to be dominated. This book differentiates between ''command culture'' and ''service culture'', ''inclusiveness and exclusiveness'', ego, and the spirit. Conflict between positional and relational leadership is highlighted with an emphasis on how to improve relationships. Leadership is not a popularity contest. Who is a leader? What makes or breaks a leader? What are the strengths and weaknesses? How do we build teams with trust and understanding? What does an effective leader look like and how can we cultivate one? This book answers these and many other questions.

Scraping together, life was hard in the village, made harder by unemployment. Factory-made goods from Britain had long replaced India''s traditional arts. Factory-made textiles replaced weaving in the villages. The British, with their naked capitalism, destroyed the villagers'' looms, their livelihood. Not to mention the winters, turbulent monsoons, droughts and famines in equal measure, kept them pinned down in poverty.

From as early as he could remember, Derick Sylvester had set his sights on becoming a lawyer and to fight injustice. Throughout this autobiography, Sylvester presents unique insights into the trial process and he reflects upon the many cases in which he has been involved. Trials of a Trial Lawyer traces the journey of Derick Sylvester''s life to date and explores the many experiences that have influenced his progression into the lawyer we see today. Written in his own words, this autobiography is emotive, engaging and reflects his empathy for the human condition, his passion for the law and his never-ending quest for justice.

The revolutionary act of imprinting gender into Caribbean thought is celebrated by Patricia Mohammed as she brings together decades worth of her critical essays that have influenced directions in feminism and in social thinking. In the face of narratives that cast shadows on the value of evolutionary progress, Mohammed encourages us to take pause and recognise how far gender scholars and feminists have come in leaving the world more gender equitable than we found it.

A novel based on the struggles of indigenous peoples in the fictional country of Kayana, 'Land of Many Waters'.

Growing up in British Guiana in the 1920s, Marcus Gullant was restless and ambitious and generally misunderstood by his peers. He felt unsuited to the slow pace of village life and always sought adventure and purpose. As a young man, his attentions were drawn to Teresa, one of the village elite. But her status, and that of her family, was beyond his reach. How would he be able to contest her love? His solution was to become a soldier in the British Army. Matters of the heart are rarely straightforward, and for Marcus there was no exception.