Caribbean writers will be represented at the Brooklyn Book Festival this Sunday, September 23. Below are the panels featuring Caribbean writers. Of special note are the 2pm and 3pm panels (in the Community Room) focused on Caribbean writing. More information available at the Brooklyn Book Festival’s site.
10:00 A.M. Home Is Not A Place. Four authors read and discuss their books whose protagonists are challenged to create and negotiate their identity in a new homeland–a journey fraught with confusion, rebellion and uncertain outcomes. Graphic novelist Leela Corman (Unterzakhn), and authors Patricia Engel (Vida), Luis Alberto Urrea (Into the Beautiful North) and Jose Manuel Prieto (Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire). Moderated by Tiphanie Yanique (How to Escape from a Leper Colony). At Saint Francis Screening Room (180 Remsen Street).
11:00 A.M. Another Fine Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into. Marie-Helene Bertino (Safe as Houses), Karen Thompson Walker (The Age of Miracles) and Earl Lovelace (Is Just a Movie)plop their characters into almost unbelievable, surreal situations. Join us as they discuss the inspiration behind these settings. Moderated by Anderson Tepper, Vanity Fair. At Saint Francis Auditorium (180 Remsen Street).
12:00 P.M. Rewriting History. Jamie Manrique (Cervantes Street), Esmeralda Santiago(Conquistadora) and Ellis Avery (The Last Nude) read and discuss their historical novels, filled with vivid characters ranging from Avery’s Parisian lovers and Santiago’s nineteenth century love triangle to Manrique’s fictional account of the life of Miguel de Cervantes, author of the classic Don Quixote. Moderated by Albert Mobilio. At Brooklyn Historical Society Library (128 Pierrepont Street).
12:00 P.M. Characters on Characters. Best-selling literary lions Walter Mosley, Edwidge Danticat and Dennis Lehane discuss their unforgettable characters and the darkness that often enshrouds them. The program will also feature short readings. Moderated by Harold Augenbraum of the National Book Foundation. At Brooklyn Borough Hall Courtroom (209 Joralemon Street).
2:00 P.M. Literary Lions. Readings by award winning authors Pete Hamill (Tabloid City),Edwidge Danticat (Create Dangerously) and Paul Auster (Winter Journal). Whether their point of view is a palimpsest of Brooklyn fiction or set in other places, they have each lived in Brooklyn and been influenced by it. Followed by Q & A. Introduced by Johnny Temple, Publisher, Akashic Books and Chair of the Brooklyn Literary Council. At Saint Ann and the Holy Trinity Church (157 Montage Street).
2:00 P.M. Calabash Presents. Jamaica’s legendary Calabash International Literary Festival celebrates 50 years of Jamaican independence with readings by premier Jamaican-born novelists and poets Chris John Farley (Kingston Noir), Jacqueline Bishop (Snapshots from Istanbul), andIshion Hutchinson (Far District). Moderated by Calabash co-founder Kwame Dawes. At Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room (209 Joralemon Street).
3:00 P.M. BOCAS Presents. Trinidad’s groundbreaking annual NGC Bocas Literary Festival comes to Brooklyn to celebrate 50 years of Trinidad & Tobago independence with readings by Earl Lovelace (Is Just a Movie), Victoria Brown (Minding Ben) and Anton Nimblett (Sections of an Orange). Moderated by Nicholas Laughlin, BOCAS organizer and editor of the CaribbeanReview of Books. At Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room (209 Joralemon Street).
3:00 P.M. Location, Location, Location. Colin Channer (Kingston Noir), Mark Leyner (The Sugar Frosted Nutsack) and Jessica Hagedorn (Toxicology) discuss themes of violence, drug use and crime in the very different locations of Jamaica, Dubai and Manhattan’s West Village. It just goes to show that almost every place in the world is united by the dark and devious. Moderated by Brigid Hughes. St. Francis McArdle (180 Remsen Street).
