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Book Displays: Caribbean American Heritage 6/25

A historical file on books on display at the Monroe University Libraries - and the occasion for which they were displayed

Caribbean American Heritage Month - June

Books at Dr. Simon Memorial Library (BX)

A Brief History of the Caribbean : from the Arawak and the Carib to the present /

Beginning with Columbus' arrival in the Bahamas over five centuries ago, A Brief History of the Caribbean traces the people and events that have marked this complex, constantly shifting region and the social, economic, and political factors that have shaped its tumultuous history.

A Colony of Citizens : Revolution & slave emancipation in the French Caribbean, 1787-1804.

The idea of universal rights is often understood as the product of Europe, but at Laurent DuBois demonstrates, it was profoundly shaped by the struggle over slavery and citizenship in the French Caribbean.

Caribbean Women Writers

"The past few decades have seen an explosion of writing by women from the Caribbean. From Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Trinidad - women of African, European, and mixed ancestry have explored and manipulated their complex matrix: of languages and subtle linguistic codes; of folk traditions and formal English schooling; of vital politics and tormented histories; of intoxicating natural beauty and devastating poverty. They have written of mothertongues and motherlands, of exile, of the boundaries of bodies, of the politics of owning and not owning themselves.

Rara! : vodou, power, and performance in Haiti and its diaspora

Rara is a vibrant annual street festival in Haiti, when followers of the Afro-Creole religion called Voudou march loudly into the public space to take an active role in politics, During the six weeks of Lent, Rara bands parade for miles, playing music, dancing, and performing rituals for Afro-Haitian spirits.

Food for the Body Food for the Soul

My fondest memories are centered around my mother's kitchen which has always been filled with the comfort of a home-cooked meal, family values, and love. Growing up, my older sister and I anticipated coming home to the dinner table to indulge in one of mother's delicious and unique Haitian dishes.

Rastafari: a Very Short Introduction

From its obscure beginnings in Jamaica, Rastafari has grown into an international socio-religious movement. It is estimated up to one million people have embraced Rastafari, and its adherents can be found around the world.

Defining Jamaican Fiction

Marronage--the process of flight by slaves from servitude to establish their own hegemonies in inhospitable or wild territories---had its beginnings in the early 1500s in Hispaniola, the first European settlement in the New World. As fictional personae the maroons continue to weave in and out of oral and literary tales as central and ancient characters of Jamaica's heritage. Attributes of the maroon character surface in other character types that crowd Jamaica's literary history--resentful strangers, travelers, and fugitives; desperate misfits and strays; recluses, rejects, wild men, outcasts; and rebels in physical and psychological wildernesses.

No Woman No Cry : My life with Bob Marley

A revealing memoir of Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley, from the woman who knew him better than anyone-his wife. Rita Marley met Bob Marley in a recording studio in Trench Town, Jamaica when she was eighteen. A year later, they were married. The two of them set the world on fire. But life with Bob was not easy. This is an honest account of Bob and Rita's life together, including never-before-told details of the famed songwriter's life, from Bob's multiple affairs to the attack that almost killed them both-and who did and didn't come to his funeral.

Noises in the Blood

The language of Jamaican popular culture--its folklore, idioms, music, poetry, song--even when written is based on a tradition of sound, an orality that has often been denigrated as not worthy of serious study. In Noises in the Blood, Carolyn Cooper critically examines the dismissed discourse of Jamaica's vibrant popular culture and reclaims these cultural forms, both oral and textual, from an undeserved neglect. Noises in the Blood, vividly and stylishly written, offers a distinctive approach to Caribbean cultural studies.

Haiti's Predatory Republic

The collapse of the Duvalier dictatorship gave rise to hope among Haitians for a democratic journey to economic development, political renewal and social peace. The reality has not been so sanguine. This text analyzes the vicissitudes of politics in Haiti from the demise of Duvalier to 2001.

Callaloo or Tossed Salad?

Callaloo or Tossed Salad? is a historical and ethnographic case study of the politics of cultural struggle between two traditionally subordinate ancestral groups in Trinidad, those claiming African and Indian descent. Viranjini Munasinghe argues that East Indians in Trinidad seek to become a legitimate part of the nation by redefining what it means to be Trinidadian, not by changing what it means to be Indian.

Soldier : the life of Colin Powell

Over the course of a lifetime of service to his country, Colin Powell became a national hero, a beacon of wise leadership and, according to polls, “the most trusted man in America.” From his humble origins as the son of Jamaican immigrants to the highest levels of government in four administrations, he helped guide the nation through some of its most heart-wrenching hours. With information about the inner workings of an administration locked in ideological combat, DeYoung makes clearer than ever before the decision-making process that took the nation to war and addresses the still-unanswered questions about Powell’s departure from his post shortly after the 2004 election.

Books at New Rochelle Campus Library

Rastafari Women : subordination in the midst of liberation theology

The subordination of Jamaican Rastafarian women represents a microcosm of women's subordination worldwide. Rastafari Women: Subordination in the Midst of Liberation Theology focuses on the Rastafarians who emerged in 1930 in response to the exploitation and disenfranchisement of African people in Jamaica. Rastafarian cultural ideology includes the belief in the divinity of Haile Selassie and that the salvation of people of African descent lies in their repatriation to Africa.

African Caribbeans : a reference guide

Celebrates the African cultural heritage of Caribbean islands and countries, examining the economy, history, religion, music, literature, arts, and daily lives of each area's inhabitants.

The Woe Shirt : Caribbean folk tales

After being exiled from Haiti by the Papa Doc regime, Barton lived on other islands in the Caribbean, which allowed him to witness and experience the common cultural threads and political struggles that connect the islands. These thirteen short stories weave the settings of Barton's life into a mosaic of that Caribbean experience.

Caribbean Art

The complex and colorful world of Caribbean art reflects the region's African, European, Asian, and native heritage. Despite the diversity of Caribbean artists, there is a cultural unity in their work that distinguishes it from North American and Latin American art. Following a discussion of the pre-Columbian and colonial eras, the author describes how pioneering national art movements in the first half of the twentieth century helped to define an indigenous aesthetic, and how revolution, anti-imperialism, and race-consciousness in the turbulent sixties and seventies affected the face of art.

The Whistling Bird

An anthology by women writers from the Caribbean. Haiti's Edwidge Danticat contributes Night Women, a story about prostitutes, and Jamaica's Carmen Tipling contributes Lunchtime Revolution, a play on a coup d'etat by amateurs.

The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories

The Caribbean is the source of one of the richest, most accessible, and yet technically adventurous traditions of contemporary world literature. This Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories is pan-Caribbean, including stories from the four main languages of the region. Stories by major figures in the English language tradition are set alongside their Spanish- and French-speaking contemporaries. Their work, in all its diversity of style, theme, and linguistic energy, provides a context for the work of an exciting new generation of Caribbean writers.

Caribbean Short Stories

A selection of Caribbean short stories, tracing the development of the short story from its beginnings in the early part of the 20th century, through to the present day. The authors include Samuel Selvon, Jean Rhys, V.S. Naipaul, Jamaica Kincaid, Neil Bissoondath and Alecia Mckenzie.

The Book of Night Women

The Book of Night Women is a sweeping, startling novel. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the 18th century. The slave women around her recognize a dark power that they--and she--will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans. Lilith's story overflows with drama and heartbreak, and life on the plantation is rife with dangerous secrets, jealousies, inhuman violence, and very human emotion--between slave and master, between slave and overseer, and among the slaves themselves.

Peppers Peppers Peppers

In more than 100 recipes, Peppers Peppers Peppers offers an eclectic mix of sweet and spicy with traditional and contemporary. A colorful celebration of the versatile pepper, Marlene Spieler's recipes are innovative and straightforward -- few have more than a handful of ingredients. From the fiery hot Thai chile pepper to the mildly sweet and familiar red bell pepper, this cookbook accommodates all tastes with recipes originating in North America, the Mediterranean, the Far East, India, the African continent, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.

A Monroe University Research Guide

               THIS RESEARCH OR "LIBGUIDE" WAS PRODUCED BY THE LIBRARIANS OF MONROE UNIVERSITY             

    EMAIL: library@monroeu.edu -- Bronx Campus (646) 393-8333 / New Rochelle Campus (914)-740-6437