Brooklyn Public Library Hosts Caribbean Author Series October 15, 2005

BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS CARIBBEAN AUTHOR SERIES

Brooklyn Public Library celebrates the contributions of Caribbean culture with an informative four-part ?Caribbean Author Series.? Curated and hosted by Silvio Torres-Saillant, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Latino-Latin American Studies program at Syracuse University, the series features acclaimed authors Myriam J.A. Chancy, Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Angie Cruz and Pamela Mordecai who will read from and discuss their works. Open and free to the public, the ?Caribbean Author Series? takes place at Brooklyn Public Library?s Central Library at Grand Army Plaza. The series runs from September 24, 2005 through December 3, 2005 and is held on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Meeting Room.

Myriam J. A. Chancy, September 24, 2005
Born in Haiti and raised in Canada, Myriam J.A. Chancy was a finalist in the Best First Book Category, Canada/Caribbean region, of the Commonwealth Prize in 2004. She is the author of two books of literary criticism, Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women and Searching for Safe Spaces: Afro-Caribbean Women Writers in Exile, which was awarded an Outstanding Academic Book Award by the American Library Associated. In her second novel, The Scorpion?s Claw, she narrates the bloody history of the last six centuries of Haiti, from the violent years of colonialism and slavery, to the chaotic aftermath of the fall of the Baby Doc regime.

Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Saturday, October 15, 2005, 4 PM
A Brooklyn resident born in Puerto Rico, Edgardo Vega Yunqué is the author of four novels and two collections of short stories. His latest novel, Blood Fugues, tells the story of a New York City teen working at a dairy farm in upstate New York, where he experiences a violent rite of passage, leading to revelation about his family?s secrets.

Angie Cruz, Saturday, November 19, 2005, 4 PM
New York born Dominicana Angie Cruz is an award winning author currently working on her third novel and developing a screenplay for her first novel, Soledad. She is co-founder of WILL: Women in Literature & Letters, a women-of color-centered collective dedicated to the transformation of society, producing readings and writing workshops. Her latest novel, Let it Rain Coffee, illuminates lives marked by longing and hardship alternating between two very different places, the lush valleys of Los Llanos, Dominican Republic, during the revolutionary days of the 1960s, and the tough streets of Nueva York in the 1990s.

Pamela Mordecai, Saturday, December 3, 2005, 4 PM
Jamaican born Pamela Mordecai has held many professional positions including teacher, TV host, editor and publisher. An accomplished writer, her works include poems and short stories for adults and children, newspaper editorials, dance criticism, language art textbooks and studies on Caribbean culture. Sharing a special interest in written works by Caribbean women, Mordecai has edited several anthologies including Jamaica Woman, Her True-True Name and From Our Yard: Jamaican Poetry Since Independence. Her fourth collection of poetry, The True Blue of Islands, is divided into three sections, each one reverting back to her previous poetry collection, Certifiable. The themes range from violence in the family, school and community and the life and death of her brother, to the family histories and cultures of Caribbean islands.

Brooklyn Public Library offers a rich range of programs and exhibitions year round reflecting the diverse cultural interests of its community. Brooklyn Public Library has a dedicated Caribbean Literary & Cultural Center located at the Flatbush Branch at 22 Linden Boulevard. The Center houses a special collection of Caribbean interest materials, offers a wide range of cultural and educational programs, and showcases contemporary Caribbean and Caribbean-American artists, as well as participants in an Artist/Scholar-In-Residence program, in the Exhibition Gallery. The ?Caribbean Author Series? is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

If you would like to interview authors participating in this series, please contact Ruth A. Wagner, Publicist: 718.230.2211; ruth@brooklynpubliclibrary.org.

Brooklyn Public Library is an independent New York City library system serving the borough of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest in the United States. Its Central Library, Business Library, and 58 branch libraries offer free information, programs and computer access to people of all ages. You can reach the Library's resources of over 70 reference databases, catalog information and news 24 hours a day at www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.