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46-696: The NGC Bocas Lit Fest also works in collaboration with other international festivals and initiatives, and has hosted events showcasing Caribbean writing talent in New York, at the Brooklyn Book Fair, the Harlem Book Fair and elsewhere in the US. In 2012, Bocas partnered with the Edinburgh World Writers Conference as part of a lineup of 14 countries delivering a multinational series of talks marking

92-442: A factory. As he later wrote: "Migration was not a word I would have used to describe what I was doing when I moved with other West Indians to England in 1950. We easily thought we were going to an England that had been painted in our childhood consciousness as a heritage and a place of welcome. It is the measure of our innocence that neither the claim of heritage nor the expectation of welcome would have been seriously doubted. England

138-638: A list of "20 Best Literary Festivals Around the World That You Should Attend" chosen by Penguin Random House - The Writers' Academy, alongside other prestigious festivals including Hay , Edinburgh and Jaipur . Another accolade, from Jonathan Ford of the Financial Times in May 2017, noted: "In the seven years since Bocas launched, Caribbean writers have been heaped with international accolades —

184-466: A period of three years (2013–15), and announced at the Bocas Lit Fest in 2012 by Sue Woodford-Hollick , the prize was awarded to writers in three literary genres over consecutive years: fiction in 2013; non-fiction in 2014; and poetry in 2015. The first winner in 2013, for fiction, was Barbara Jenkins of Trinidad & Tobago. The winner in 2014, for non-fiction, was Jamaican Diana McCaulay. In 2015,

230-449: A scholarship. Encouraged by his teacher, Frank Collymore – founder of the pioneering Caribbean literary magazine BIM – Lamming found the world of books and started to write. Lamming left Barbados to work as a teacher from 1946 to 1950 in Port of Spain , Trinidad , at El Colegio de Venezuela, a boarding school for boys. He then emigrated to England where, for a short time, he worked in

276-723: Is a year-round programme of events at The Writers Centre (TWC) at Alcazar Street, Port of Spain, and the 10th anniversary celebrations of Bocas in 2020 included plans for Caribbean writers with new books to participate in UK literary festivals as well as events at the British Library , Oxford University and the University of East Anglia . The Bocas Lit Fest was held for the first time in 2011 – from Thursday, 28 April to Sunday, 1 May – including readings, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings and art exhibitions. Attracting 3,500 attendances over

322-444: Is undoubtedly George Lamming's finest novel. It succeeds in illuminating new areas of darkness in the colonial past that the colonizer has so far not dealt with, and in this sense it is a profoundly revolutionary and original work." Much of Lamming's work had gone out of print by the late 1970s, when Allison and Busby reissued several titles, including his 1960 collection of essays, The Pleasures of Exile , which attempts to define

368-519: The Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), "honouring fifty-five years of extraordinary engagement with the responsibility of illuminating Caribbean identities, healing the wounds of erasure and fragmentation, envisioning possibilities, transcending inherited limitations. In recognizing this son and ancestor, CARICOM is applauding intellectual energy, constancy of vision, and an unswerving dedication to

414-775: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture , the Countee Cullen Library , and the Thurgood Marshall Academy have served as venues. C-SPAN's Book TV has broadcast from the Harlem Book Fair since 1999, airing its popular panels. With its growing popularity, the Harlem Book Fair has been hosted in other cities including Atlanta , Philadelphia , Los Angeles , Boston , Hempstead, Newark, and Buffalo , Caribbean authors have also been promoted at

460-468: The West Indies in 1956 and West Africa in 1958. His second novel, The Emigrants , (1954), which focuses on the migrants' journey and the process of resettlement, was described by Quarterly Black Review as "very thought-provoking. It shows how adrift black people can be as they search for a political, economic and social context. It should also be read as an example of how black people have tried to use

506-439: The 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction , four Forward Prizes for Poetry between 2014 and 2016, and a slew of National Book Awards . Virtually all the writers honoured — including Marlon James , Kei Miller and Vahni Capildeo — were first recognised at this extraordinary little festival in the tropics, a place that is only far away to those who refuse to read." The Bocas Lit Fest, together with its founder Marina Salandy-Brown,

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552-445: The 50th anniversary of the five-day meeting of "an impressive, sensational and sometimes scandalous group of writers" at the first Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama . The Bocas Lit Fest was described by Claire Armitstead of The Guardian as "expansive in its cultural reach, reflecting a region that has responded to its own colonisation over the centuries by seeding its people to every continent". The Bocas Lit Fest

598-565: The African experience, set up by Rodriguez in 1992), the Harlem Book Fair (HBF) was first held in July 1998 on the plaza of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street . Outgrowing this space, HBF moved to Harlem’s 135th Street, and at its peak covered three city blocks, stretching from 5th Avenue to Frederick Douglass Boulevard . HBF is an indoor and outdoor event, and

644-607: The Barbadian magazine Bim , edited by his teacher Frank Collymore, and the BBC's Caribbean Voices radio series broadcast his poems and short prose. Lamming himself read poems on Caribbean Voices , including some by the young Derek Walcott . Lamming's first novel, In the Castle of My Skin , was published in London in 1953. It won a Somerset Maugham Award and was championed by eminent figures

690-477: The Burt Award sponsored by CODE (Canadian Organization for Development Through Education) for Caribbean authors of literature for young adults, launched in 2013. The first-place winner in 2014 was A-dZiko Gegele , in second place was Joanne Hillhouse and in third place Colleen Smith-Dennis. In 2015, first prize went to Imam Baksh. In second place was Diana McCaulay and third was Lynn Joseph . The 2016 prize winner

736-679: The Caribbean and the rest of the world". The main venues are the National Library (NALIS) and the Old Fire Station, in downtown Port of Spain , with satellite evening events at venues around the city. There is also a full programme of activities for young readers, sponsored by KFC , and in the run-up to the festival storytelling events take place in Tobago , Couva , Chaguanas , San Fernando , Point Fortin , Mayaro and Arima . A new venture

782-411: The Castle of My Skin (1953), The Emigrants (1954), Of Age and Innocence (1958), Season of Adventure (1960), Water with Berries (1971), and Natives of My Person (1972). His much acclaimed first novel, In the Castle of My Skin , featuring an autobiographical character named G., can be read as both a coming-of-age story as well as the story of the Caribbean. His second novel, The Emigrants ,

828-513: The Castle of My Skin – about which Mia Mottley , Prime Minister of Barbados, said: "...none of his works touches the Barbadian psyche like his first" – was included on the " Big Jubilee Read " list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in June 2022. In a statement issued on the day of his death, Prime Minister Mottley described him as

874-796: The Castle of My Skin , his 1953 debut novel . He also held academic posts, including as a distinguished visiting professor at Duke University and a visiting professor in the Africana Studies Department of Brown University , and lectured extensively worldwide. George William Lamming was born on 8 June 1927 in Carrington Village , Barbados, of mixed Afro-Barbadian and English parentage. After his mother, Loretta Devonish, married his stepfather, Lamming split his time between his birthplace and his stepfather's home in St David's Village. He attended Roebuck Boys' School and Combermere School on

920-443: The Harlem Book Fair features exhibition booths, panel discussions, book sales, and workshops. Notable authors participating have included Cornel West , Sonia Sanchez , Amiri Baraka , Walter Mosley , Terry McMillan , Touré , Farai Chideya , Stanley Crouch , Nelson George , Mark Anthony Neal . Founded by Max Rodriguez, publisher of QBR The Black Book Review (the first national book review exclusively dedicated to books about

966-557: The Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize, is jointly administered by the Bocas Lit Fest and the creative writing organisation Arvon , and is an award that allows an emerging Caribbean writer living and working in the Caribbean to devote time to developing or finishing a literary work in-progress, with support from an established writer as mentor. Sponsored by the Hollick Family Charitable Trust for

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1012-632: The NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council , and Commonwealth Writers , aimed at supporting the development of Caribbean writing and publishing. Public initiatives of the project use the "CaribLit" brand. Harlem Book Fair The Harlem Book Fair is the United States' largest African-American book fair and the nation’s flagship Black literary event. Held annually in Harlem, New York ,

1058-529: The Sea . In 2019, the awardee was publisher Ian Randle . The 2021 recipients were Edward Baugh and Mervyn Morris , both professors emeriti of the University of the West Indies . Merle Hodge and Funso Aiyejina won the 2022 award. Trinidad-born scholar Sandra Pouchet Paquet received the award in 2023, and Guyana-born publisher Arif Ali was announced as the 2024 winner. The Bocas Lit Fest additionally administers

1104-664: The South+Central NGC Bocas Lit Fest, scheduled to take place annually in November, was inaugurated. In November 2014, NGC Bocas Lit Fest South was hosted by Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando, birthplace of the writer Sam Selvon , and the festival commemorated the 20th anniversary of his death. In 2014, "Festival Radio" was inaugurated, to "bring the festival experience to listeners around

1150-510: The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, independent bookseller Joan Dayal of Paper Based Bookshop; Danielle Delon, editor of The Letters of Margaret Mann ; local businesswoman Lucita Esau; and Patrice Matthews, a marketing and media professional. In 2019, Rani Lakhan-Narace was appointed as president of the Bocas Lit Fest. The festival's name derives from the Spanish word for mouth, boca –

1196-612: The award was made to John La Rose (posthumously) and Sarah White of New Beacon Books . In 2014, the award was jointly won by Professors Kenneth Ramchand and Gordon Rohlehr . The 2015 recipient was Margaret Busby . The 2016 award went to Jeremy Poynting of Peepal Tree Press . In 2017, the award went to Joan Dayal, the owner of one of Trinidad and Tobago's leading independent bookshops, Paperbased Book Store. The 2018 honour went to Anne Walmsley , previously an editor and publisher for Longman Caribbean and Africa, who produced two key Caribbean literature anthologies: The Sun’s Eye and Facing

1242-571: The book fair, with the inclusion of such Caribbean initiatives as the Bocas Lit Fest . The Harlem Book Fair has given the Phillis Wheatley Awards to black authors including Maya Angelou , Gordon Parks , and Terry McMillan for their body of work. George Lamming George William Lamming OCC (8 June 1927 – 4 June 2022) was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet. He first won critical acclaim for In

1288-752: The four days. the festival reflected its founder's aims "to promote literature and publishing in Trinidad and Tobago and the need for Caribbean writing to be celebrated everywhere". The scores of writers taking part in the 2012 festival, both locally based and from abroad, included Fred D'Aguiar , Earl Lovelace , Vahni Capildeo , Chika Unigwe , Monique Roffey , Kenneth Ramchand , Mervyn Morris , Achy Obejas , Rabindranath Maharaj , George Lamming , professor of genetics Steve Jones , Merle Hodge , Rahul Bhattacharya , and Michael Anthony . The festival featured readings, discussions, performances, workshops, screenings of films based on Caribbean writing and music. In 2013,

1334-401: The globe", as well as attracting "a lot of attention on social media, spurred on in part by the active new media presence of the festival itself". As of 2022, Nicholas Laughlin has been the festival and programme director of Bocas, with Marina Salandy-Brown remaining as the festival's president. In February 2017, the Bocas Lit Fest was named as one of "the world's very best literary events" in

1380-582: The ideals of freedom and sovereignty." Brown University held a two-day series of events celebrating Lamming, 8–9 March 2011. In May 2011, the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) awarded Lamming the first Caribbean Hibiscus Award in acknowledgement of his lifetime's work. In 2014, he received a Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards . George Lamming Primary School, located at Flint Hall, St Michael,

1426-566: The judges for the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature , and served as chief judge for the inaugural Walter Rodney Awards for Creative Writing 2014. George Lamming died in Bridgetown , Barbados, on 4 June 2022, four days short of what would have been his 95th birthday. His son Gordon had predeceased him in 2021; his daughter Natasha Lamming-Lee survives him, as does his long-time partner Esther Phillips . Lamming wrote six novels: In

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1472-415: The like of Jean-Paul Sartre and Richard Wright , the latter writing an introduction to the book's U.S. edition. Lamming later said of the book: "I tried to reconstruct the world of my childhood and early adolescence. It was also the world of a whole Caribbean society." He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship , and became a professional writer. He began to travel widely, going to the United States in 1955,

1518-465: The novel to tell their own unique story in a unique way." He lived in England for more than a decade but, as Hillel Italie notes, "unlike Naipaul , who settled in London and at times wrote disdainfully of his origins, Lamming returned home and became a moral, political and intellectual force for a newly independent country seeking to tell its own story. ...Lamming had a broad, connective vision he would say

1564-722: The organ of speech and song and storytelling – while also referencing the Bocas del Dragón (the Dragon's Mouths), which are the narrow straits off Trinidad’s north-west peninsula that connect the Gulf of Paria to the Caribbean Sea . For centuries, the Bocas were the gateways connecting Trinidad to the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean . The festival's strapline is: "Celebrating books, writers, and writing from

1610-526: The place of the West Indian in the post-colonial world, re-interpreting Shakespeare's The Tempest and the characters of Prospero and Caliban in terms of personal identity and the history of the Caribbean . A later (1995) collection of essays is Coming, Coming Home: Conversations II – Western Education and the Caribbean Intellectual . In 2008, Lamming was awarded CARICOM 's highest award,

1656-898: The prize are in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for a book by a Caribbean writer published in the previous year, with the overall winner being chosen by a panel of judges from the three genre winners. The winners have been: in 2011, Derek Walcott 's poetry collection White Egrets , in 2012 Earl Lovelace 's novel Is Just a Movie , in 2013 Monique Roffey 's novel Archipelago , in 2014 Robert Antoni 's novel As Flies to Whatless Boys , in 2015 Vladimir Lucien 's Sounding Ground (poetry), in 2016 Olive Senior 's The Pain Tree (fiction), in 2017 Kei Miller 's Augustown (fiction), in 2018 Jennifer Rahim 's Curfew Chronicles (fiction), and in 2019 Kevin Adonis Browne's High Mas (non-fiction). The Emerging Caribbean Writers Prize, formerly known as

1702-500: The prize was awarded to poet Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné. The Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters (named after the influential producer of the BBC radio programme Caribbean Voices that ran from 1943 to 1958) was inaugurated at the 2013 NGC Bocas Lit Fest, as an "annual lifetime achievement award to recognise service to Caribbean literature by editors, publishers, critics, broadcasters, and others". In 2013,

1748-485: The same reason - to make a career as a writer. This was a journey to an expectation, and between 1948 and 1960 every West Indian novelist of significance within their region made a similar journey: Wilson Harris , Edgar Mittleholzer , Ian Carew of Guyana, Roger Mais , Andrew Salkey and John Hearne of Jamaica. In 1951, Lamming became a broadcaster for the BBC Colonial Service . His writings were published in

1794-653: Was a sequel to his debut autobiographical work, following the life of the same protagonist as he travels from Barbados to England in search of better prospects and opportunities. Of Age and Innocence (1958) and Season of Adventure (1960) take place on the fictional Caribbean island of San Cristobal, and 1972's Water with Berries "describes various flaws in West Indian society through the plot of Shakespeare 's The Tempest ." Of Lamming's last novel, Jan Carew wrote in The New York Times : " 'Natives of My Person'

1840-456: Was a visiting professor in the United States at the University of Texas at Austin , the University of Pennsylvania , the University of Connecticut , Brown University , Cornell University , and Duke University and a lecturer in Denmark , Tanzania , and Australia . Lamming also directed the University of Miami 's Summer Institute for Caribbean Creative Writing. In April 2012, he was chair of

1886-540: Was debut novelist Tamika Gibson, with Florenz Webbe Maxwell of Bermuda second, and Danielle Y. C. McClean in third place. The 2017 winner was Viviana Prado-Núñez (Puerto Rico/USA), with Kevin Jared Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago) as runner-up, and Lisa Allen-Agostini (Trinidad & Tobago) in third place. Launched in 2012 was the Caribbean Literature Action Group (CALAG), a new partnership between

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1932-532: Was established in 2011, with the organising team comprising Marina Salandy-Brown , founder and managing director; programme director Nicholas Laughlin , editor of the Caribbean Review of Books and of Caribbean Beat ; Funso Aiyejina , prize-winning author and dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine ; Marjorie Thorpe , former professor of literature at

1978-578: Was honoured by the International Women's Forum (IWF) in the "Ideas Remaking the World" segment of IWF's World Leadership Conference in November 2021, being described as "the embodiment of Caribbean vibrancy, energy and creativity". The centrepiece of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest festival is the announcement at an award ceremony of the overall winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. Entries for

2024-531: Was inspired in part by the Trinidadian historian-activist C.L.R. James . His calling was to address the crimes of history, unearth and preserve his native culture and forge a 'collective sense' of the future." He entered academia in 1967 as a writer-in-residence and lecturer in the Creative Arts Centre and Department of Education at the University of the West Indies , Mona , Jamaica (1967–68). Later, he

2070-657: Was named in his honour and opened on 2 September 2008. His work is celebrated through the George Lamming Pedagogical Centre, housed at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI), with annual distinguished lecture series held annually in June, the month of Lamming's birth. His personal literary collection is housed at the Sidney Martin Library, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados. Lamming's 1953 debut novel, In

2116-430: Was not for us a country with classes and conflicts of interest like the islands we left. It was the name of a responsibility whose origin may have coincided with the beginning of time. ... "The emigrants were largely men in search of work. My friend and fellow traveller, the late Samuel Selvon of Trinidad, was a poet and short-story writer then halfway through his first novel, A Brighter Sun . Sam and I had left home for

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