Issues of Womanhood, Displacement & Identity for Launch 6th Season of Caribbean Literary Series
Featuring: Victoria Brown and Carolyn “Empress Poetry” Layne
The monthly panorama of wordsmiths hailing from the Caribbean returns for its sixth season with Brooklyn based first-time published writers Victoria Brown and Carolyn “Empress Poetry” Layne. Poets & Passion – A Caribbean Literary Lime begins on Friday, October 14 at 7:30pm at the Downtown Brooklyn campus of St. Francis College, 182 Remsen Street.
The pairing of Brown and Layne, not only celebrates their phenomenal talents as writers but will also explore their respective journeys to getting their work eventually published. Victoria’s Minding Ben is published by Voice/Hyperion, and Impressions of a Poet, Footnotes of My Journey, Empress Poetry’s debut collectionis from Bravin Publishing. For reservations and information contact the Caribbean Cultural Theatre at 718-783-8345 or 718-270-6218.
Victoria Brown, a Trinidad & Tobago national, came to New York at the age of sixteen, where she worked as a full-time nanny for several years. Her experiences, and those of the many, mostly, immigrant women of colour she interacted with who were caring for white children, forms the backdrop for her debut novel. “Minding Ben throws the spotlight on this group of women, exposing the cultural and sometimes moral sacrifices they make to eke out a living” (Trinidad Guardian). At Vassar College in New York, Brown majored in English before attending University of Warwick in Coventry, England. She is currently completing her MFA at Hunter College (CUNY).
Carolyn Layne hales from the island of Barbados. An author, poet, mentor, radio talk show host and mother she works under the nom de plume, Empress Poetry. Combining her spirituality and activism, Empress Poetry utilizes her work to inspire high school mentees, encourage young women and empower girls in her community. all she encounters. She is a part of an eclectic trio on the internet radio show 3 Ingredients -1 Foundation on Everyday Radio. Part of the poetic ensemble UNTAMED TALENT; A.A.C.R.E.E.E.D & Friends, she recently published Impressions of a Poet, Footnotes of My Journey.
Initiated as a platform for Caribbean-American creative writers to present their work and network, Poets & Passion has evolved into a curious mix literary salon featuring celebrated poets and novelists, emerging New York area talents, spoken work artists, and lovers of the written word.
A project of the Brooklyn, NY based Caribbean Cultural Theatre, Poets & Passion has over the past half decade provided a forum for Caribbean and Caribbean-American creative writers to present their work and network. This curious mix literary salon featuring celebrated poets and novelists, emerging New York area talents, spoken work artists, and lovers of the written word has hosted such celebrated writers as poets Kamau Braithwaite (Barbados), Merle Collins (Grenada) and Linton Kwesi Johnson (UK), and novelists Robert Antoni (Bahamas), E.R. Braithwaite (Guyana), Marlon James (Jamaica), and Elizabeth Nunez (Trinidad & Tobago).
The next program on November 11 will see Kevin Miller (Barbados) and Ras Yayah (St. Lucia) for an evening exploring the nexus of dub poetry and Rastafarian. This will be followed by Samantha Thornhill (Trinidad & Tobago) hosting a special open mic session dedicated to being thankful. The suggested contribution for each even is $5 and books from the entire series are on sale at each event.
The Caribbean Cultural Theatre 2011-12 season of is presented with support from the offices of New York City Council members Mathieu Eugene and Latisha James, Caribbean Research Center at Medgar Evers College (CUNY), St. Francis College- Office of Community Relations, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Material for the Arts, and Friends of CCT.
