Panels and discussions
Literature doesn’t just mean
stories and poems — it’s also about ideas, questions, and debates, and using
the tools of reading and writing to understand the world. The Bocas Lit Fest
programme includes a series of panels and talks on topics ranging from current
affairs to questions of the ages, led by some of our sharpest writer-thinkers.
THURSDAY 26 APRIL
The lessons of the past: how we learn our history
How are our ideas of ourselves and our societies are shaped by the way we learn about the past? Authors of recent history textbooks share their perspectives. Panel includes Kevin Baldeosingh, co-author of Caribbean History for CSEC, and Tony Martin, author of Caribbean History: From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present. Moderated by Brinsley Samaroo.
10.30–11.30 am
What is Caribbean art?: why we need art history
Anne Walmsley, co-author of Art in the Caribbean, joins artist Christopher Cozier, artist-teacher Andy Jacob, and scholar Marsha Pearce for a conversation about Caribbean art history: who writes it, why do we need it, and how do art historians help shape our visual imagination? Moderated by Nicholas Laughlin.
1.30–2.30 pm
FRIDAY 27 APRIL
From the pitch to the page: the literature of cricket
Rahul Bhattacharya, author of Pundits in Pakistan — about the India cricket team’s tour of Pakistan in 2003–2004 — and Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland — a novel in which cricket plays a central role — discuss the intersections between the sport and literary writing. Moderated by Brendan de Caires.
1.00–2.00 pm
Heart of darkness?: Caribbean noir
Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, publisher of a celebrated noir fiction anthology series, joins Trinidad Noir co-editor Lisa Allen-Agostini and Havana Noir editor Achy Obejas for a conversation about how and why this dark genre suits contemporary Caribbean life. Moderated by Jonathan Ali.
3.30–4.30 pm
SATURDAY 28 APRIL
The Big Idea: How different are human races and should we care?
In the first annual NGC Bocas Lecture, geneticist Steve Jones questions our notions of “race”, and discusses the vexed issue with Kevin Baldeosingh.
1.30–2.30 pm
SUNDAY 29 APRIL
Anxieties of influence: postcolonial writing and literary tradition
“Postcolonial” writers in English juggle literary influences ranging from classic British literature to indigenous traditions to the ever-expanding body of “world” literature. Is this a burden or a blessing? Five writers — Loretta Collins Klobah, Karen Lord, Rabindranath Maharaj, Shara McCallum, and Kei Miller — discuss their own personal literary influences and finding their own distinctive voices. Moderated by Kenneth Ramchand.
1.00–2.00 pm
National interests: how our idea of the “nation” has changed since Independence
Historian Bridget Brereton leads a conversation on post-Independence nationalism, joined by Frank Birbalsingh and Godfrey P. Smith. How has our definition of the “nation”, changed over the past 50 years, and what does it mean for contemporary Caribbean society?
2.30–4.00 pm
The NGC Bocas Lit Fest “Short Talks” series
Lively, sharply focused conversations with authors of recent non-fiction books.
• Rosemary Stone, author of A Spirited Butterfly, on a half century of fashion design in Trinidad and Tobago.
Thursday 26 April, 11.30 am–12.00.pm
• Lise Winer, author of the Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago, on how language shapes our understanding of the world.
Thursday 26 April, 3.30–4.30 pm
• Michael Anthony, author of The Carnivals of Trinidad and Tobago, on how the annual festival has changed in the past century.
Friday 27 April, 10.00–10.45 am
• Anne Walmsley, former Caribbean editor for Longman, shares her memories of Caribbean writers and writing in the decade after Independence.
Friday 27 April, 2.30–3.15 pm
• Basil Ince, author of Olympian, on Trinidad and Tobago’s athletic history and heroes of the last fifty years.
Saturday 28 April, 10.00–10.45 am
• Keith McNeal, anthropologist and author of Trance and Modernity in the Southern Caribbean, on researching traditions of trance performance and spirit mediumship in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sunday 29 April, 1.30–2.00 pm
NB: final panels and discussions programme subject to revisions
THURSDAY 26 APRIL
The lessons of the past: how we learn our history
How are our ideas of ourselves and our societies are shaped by the way we learn about the past? Authors of recent history textbooks share their perspectives. Panel includes Kevin Baldeosingh, co-author of Caribbean History for CSEC, and Tony Martin, author of Caribbean History: From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present. Moderated by Brinsley Samaroo.
10.30–11.30 am
What is Caribbean art?: why we need art history
Anne Walmsley, co-author of Art in the Caribbean, joins artist Christopher Cozier, artist-teacher Andy Jacob, and scholar Marsha Pearce for a conversation about Caribbean art history: who writes it, why do we need it, and how do art historians help shape our visual imagination? Moderated by Nicholas Laughlin.
1.30–2.30 pm
FRIDAY 27 APRIL
From the pitch to the page: the literature of cricket
Rahul Bhattacharya, author of Pundits in Pakistan — about the India cricket team’s tour of Pakistan in 2003–2004 — and Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland — a novel in which cricket plays a central role — discuss the intersections between the sport and literary writing. Moderated by Brendan de Caires.
1.00–2.00 pm
Heart of darkness?: Caribbean noir
Johnny Temple of Akashic Books, publisher of a celebrated noir fiction anthology series, joins Trinidad Noir co-editor Lisa Allen-Agostini and Havana Noir editor Achy Obejas for a conversation about how and why this dark genre suits contemporary Caribbean life. Moderated by Jonathan Ali.
3.30–4.30 pm
SATURDAY 28 APRIL
The Big Idea: How different are human races and should we care?
In the first annual NGC Bocas Lecture, geneticist Steve Jones questions our notions of “race”, and discusses the vexed issue with Kevin Baldeosingh.
1.30–2.30 pm
SUNDAY 29 APRIL
Anxieties of influence: postcolonial writing and literary tradition
“Postcolonial” writers in English juggle literary influences ranging from classic British literature to indigenous traditions to the ever-expanding body of “world” literature. Is this a burden or a blessing? Five writers — Loretta Collins Klobah, Karen Lord, Rabindranath Maharaj, Shara McCallum, and Kei Miller — discuss their own personal literary influences and finding their own distinctive voices. Moderated by Kenneth Ramchand.
1.00–2.00 pm
National interests: how our idea of the “nation” has changed since Independence
Historian Bridget Brereton leads a conversation on post-Independence nationalism, joined by Frank Birbalsingh and Godfrey P. Smith. How has our definition of the “nation”, changed over the past 50 years, and what does it mean for contemporary Caribbean society?
2.30–4.00 pm
The NGC Bocas Lit Fest “Short Talks” series
Lively, sharply focused conversations with authors of recent non-fiction books.
• Rosemary Stone, author of A Spirited Butterfly, on a half century of fashion design in Trinidad and Tobago.
Thursday 26 April, 11.30 am–12.00.pm
• Lise Winer, author of the Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago, on how language shapes our understanding of the world.
Thursday 26 April, 3.30–4.30 pm
• Michael Anthony, author of The Carnivals of Trinidad and Tobago, on how the annual festival has changed in the past century.
Friday 27 April, 10.00–10.45 am
• Anne Walmsley, former Caribbean editor for Longman, shares her memories of Caribbean writers and writing in the decade after Independence.
Friday 27 April, 2.30–3.15 pm
• Basil Ince, author of Olympian, on Trinidad and Tobago’s athletic history and heroes of the last fifty years.
Saturday 28 April, 10.00–10.45 am
• Keith McNeal, anthropologist and author of Trance and Modernity in the Southern Caribbean, on researching traditions of trance performance and spirit mediumship in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sunday 29 April, 1.30–2.00 pm
NB: final panels and discussions programme subject to revisions
