“The Caribbean Writer” continues its anniversary celebration with the release of Volume 30, highlighting “Journeys and Pathways,” and invites the general public to its book launch from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, in the Great Hall of the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix.
Volume 30 boasts literary content including insightful and exciting poetry, short-stories, one act plays, personal essays and book reviews by established, as well as emerging writers from the Caribbean and its diaspora.
“The Caribbean Writer is a gem of the University that has garnered the support of each president since its existence, and I am honored to follow in that grand tradition,” said UVI President David Hall. “That support has been consistent because of the obvious and inherent worth and value of this publication, and its centrality to the mission of the University of the Virgin Islands.”
“I am extremely proud of the journal’s 30th year anniversary and its centrality as a major literary voice regionally, nationally, and internationally,” said Dr. Emily Allen Williams, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. “‘The Caribbean Writer’ has provided a forum for a wealth of varied literary expressions and presented the same in a high quality publication that is now known, read, and respected around the globe.”
Volume 30 is edited by Alscess Lewis Brown, a widely published author of young adult literature and a member of the University’s adjunct faculty since 1990, teaching courses in literature, writing and the humanities.
“I am delighted to have the privilege and honor of editing The Caribbean Writer for the past five editions,” said Lewis Brown. “The Caribbean Writer has become the conscience, the provocateur, the living testimony of Caribbean people within the region and its diaspora. One might also say, it is a kind of virtuous act in that it nudges sensibilities―forcing readers to reach deeply into the core of their own ideas and experiences―raising questions, exploring unconscious biases, shaping, and exploring the boundaries of genre and style while encouraging appreciation for the Caribbean ethos.”
She continued, “Of the 400 submissions for Volume 30, of course, not all could be selected but even among those not selected, so many captured our imagination and admiration. The nuances of these explosive times are captured at some temperature in Volume 30.”
“The Caribbean Writer” is an international literary journal published by the University of the Virgin Islands each year. To maintain its high standard, the local editorial board is comprised of Edgar O. Lake, author and scholar, and professors from both UVI campuses, Dr. Vincent O. Cooper, Dr. Patricia Harkins-Pierre and Dr. David Gould.
The cover design of this keepsake edition is a pictorial collage of the covers on the last 29 issues of “The Caribbean Writer.” Additionally, this celebratory volume features an interview of New York Times best-selling author Tobias Buckell by another notable Virgin Islands author, Tiphanie Yanique. It also includes an index of Volumes 16 through 30 and art work by leading and emerging Caribbean artists.
Copies are $20 and can be ordered by emailing charlene.spencer@live.uvi.edu or placing an order at www.thecaribbeanwriter.org via the secure server order page.
For more information, you may contact the Caribbean Writer offices at (340) 692-4122 or 692-4152 or via email at info@thecaribbeanwriter.org.