ZiNG Caribbean – May-June 2019

22 | ZiNG CARIBBEAN http://www.liat.com | May - June 2019

Q

Canyoutellusalittleaboutyour

background?Igrewupwiththree

siblingsinasingle-parenthomeinrural

Jamaica.Mychildhoodwasunstable,

primarilybecauseoffinances.Challenges

athomeandschoolmadelearning

difficult.Mymotherstruggledtopaymy

faretoschoolbut,likeTata–thecharacter

inmychildren’sbook,TataandtheBigBad

Bull–Iwasdeterminedtogo.Momdid

herbestbutthingsweretight.SomedaysI

couldn’taffordlunch.Iusedsecond-hand

textbooksorwentwithout.Becauseof

this,Iwassubliterateattheageof12.

Q

Howdidyounavigatethe

journeyfromyour

strugglesinschooltobe

apoet,authorandChev

Scholar?Mysituation

worsenedbeforeitimp

Attheageof 14 Iwas

kickedoutofhome

andIlivedonmy

ownforthreeyears.

Then,in1999,Mike–

aVietnamvetfrom

Texas–movedto

mycommunityand

encouragedmetoread.

Withouttheinterventionso ,

andotherssuchasJMGreen,aJamaican

lecturerwhomImetduringmytime at

UWIatMona,Imightnotbealivetoday

• andcertainlynotpublishedinjournals
  andwinningscholarships.

Q

Whatdoyouthinkotherscan

takefromyourinspiringstory?

Ihopemyjourneywillinspirediscussions

aboutwhatitmeanstobe‘successful’.

Oursocietieshavelargelyfailedto

explorethecomplexemotional

ccessandfailure,

relatestohowpost-

fromadversechildhood

gativelyaffectsabused

ren’sbrainsandimmune-

temdevelopment.

hopetoinspireothers to

ecourageousintheir

effortstounpackthe

deepestandscariest

aspectsoftheirlives.

Pickupadiverseselection

ofnewCaribbeanbooks

LIME

BRILLIANT

BOOKS

INTERVIEW 60 SECONDS WITH...

Juleus Ghunta

Meet the inspiring Caribbean poet and author strivin

to help young people overcome childhood adversity

BOOKS

PAGE BY CAROL MITCHELL, FOUNDER OF CARIBBEANREADS PUBLISHING AND

AUTHOR OF THE CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE SERIES, AMONG OTHER CHILDREN’S

BOOKS. VISIT WWW.CARIBBEANREADS.COM

BLACKLEOPARD,

REDWOLF

(RIVERHEADBOOKS)

BYMARLONJAMES

Inthestunningfirstnovelin

MarlonJames’sDarkStartrilogy,myth,fantasy

andhistorycometogethertoexplorewhat

happenswhenamercenaryishiredtofind

amissingchild.AsTrackerfollowstheboy’s

scent,heandhisbandaresetuponbycreatures

intentondestroyingthem.Ashestrugglesto

survive,Trackerstartstowonder:whoreallyis

thisboy?Whydosomanypeoplewanttokeep

Trackerfromfindinghim?Andperhapsthemost

importantquestionsofall:whoistellingthe

truthandwhoislying?

MYTOILETIS

BIGGERTHAN

YOURS

(CREATESPACE)BYJEAN

HAWTHORN-DACOSTA

Rosie,ayoungJamaicangirl,travelstoChina

withhermother.Withthehelpofanewfriend,

Jia,sheexploresthecountry,visitinghistoric

sites,landmarksandtouristattractions,and

tryingnewfoods.Thisbeautifulstoryshows

that,althoughwemaylookdifferent,wecan

learnsomuchfromeachotheranddiscover

howsimilarwereallyare.

PLASTERED

IN PRETTY

(HOUSE OF NEHESI) BY NC MARKS

A pyromaniac burning a new-born,

fl amboyant vagrants, a rapist

landlord, a psychopathic boy and the wilful

yet fragile protagonist are all part of this

dystopian tale – often disturbing, often funny

• that dismantles the ‘Alice in Wonderland
  syndrome’ in a Caribbean paradise.

3 GREAT READS

 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JULEUS AND HIS BOOKS, POETRY AND THE

DREAMRIGHT PROJECT AT JULEUSGHUNTA.COM