He read me Arthur Rimbaud's Le Bateau Ivre to awaken my freedom, read me Baudelaire to contain my pain, read me Apollinaire to dilute my distress, read me Leconte de Lisle to rouse in me exaltations he called automatic, read me Saint-John Perse to take stock of the world in the rambling seaspray, he read Faulkner to show me the dark disorders in the head-depths of men...
CHRISTMAS DOWN HERE
The opportunity was during one December when City went up in flames. A disagreement between blackmen and france-whites following a tale of some illegally parked bike. Shots were fired. The white man's shot hit. Other Martinicans drinking by the kiosk nearly stoned the white shooter...
The women had to face the rest of life, including the duty of finding food for a swarm of lit- tle ones, and all without a garden. Each mama, you hear me, had to sow in herself a small plot of cunning, and look after the harvest, ill luck or no. Perched by the window, my Esternome would shout, turning to Idoménée, The hills have come down to City, the hills have come down on City, a bloody madness ...
pickCoffee or black tea? I‘m the latter and I enjoyed very much the history of caffeine and all about its good and bad effects on mankind. The author and I don‘t share the same political points of view, but how fascinating that caffeine had a massive role to play in the advancements in math and science as caffeine was introduced right before the subjects flourished. The point: caffeine gave humans the ability to focus like never before. ⬇️
pickI believe this author had as his mission to write the best researched, most thorough account of the Republic of Pirates, founded by pirate Benjamin Hornigold, in the Caribbean. The escapades of many a pirate (so many I forget who‘s who), and every ship won or lost, are detailed in this book. Which, unfortunately, makes for a boring pirate book. This book is a well-written assembly of facts and for that reason it‘s a pick for me. It‘d be an ⬇️
pickWhen José is growing up, slavery has been abolished on #Martinique but many of the black residents still survive in slavery-like conditions. We see him growing up first with his grandmother then his mother and the juxtaposition of reality aside the frequent joy of being a child. This edition had some critiques with it that really added to the story. I often don‘t like childhood stories, but this one worked for me.
#ReadingAmericas2023
Another map to track the pirates
#readingtheamericas2023 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
#Bahamas
#Barbados
#Cuba
#Jamaica
#Martinique
#USVirginIslands or #USVI
