African Diasporic Women's Narratives: Politics of Resistance, Survival, and Citizenship

Acknowledgments

vii Acknowledgments I have relied on the good will and generosity of relatives, friends, and colleagues during the undertaking of this project. Thanks to Carole Boyce Davies for her unwavering encouragement and endorsement. She was one of the first persons who underscored the manifest potential in my work on Grace Nichols. Sitting in on my conference presentation in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) that examined Nichols’s The Fat Black Woman’s Poems, she suggested afterward that I should “do something with this piece.” I did! Special thanks to Grace Nichols who I met at the conference of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars in Grenada in 1998 where she graciously offered me a signed copy of The Fat Black Woman’s Poems. In an act of unprecedented coincidence, I made a return trip to Grenada in June 2013 having just completed the final revisions of chapter 5 in which this poetry collection is analyzed. I would like to thank the University Press of Florida and its incredible staff. Special thanks to my former senior acquisitions editor, Amy Gorelick, for her initial interest in this project. I would like to thank my current project editor, Marthe Walters, and the director and acting editorin -chief, Meredith Babb. I also thank Ale Gasso, metadata manager/sales assistant, for her diligence. Elaine Otto deserves special mention for her efficient and careful copyediting of the manuscript. I am also grateful to the anonymous readers who evaluated the manuscript and offered useful and invaluable suggestions on revising it. As a recipient of two consecutive fellowships from the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, I had the good fortune of engaging and brainstorming with an intellectual community of scholars. These seminarians challenged me to read the texts in multiple ways and from multiple perspectives. The residencies provided me with the intellectual space to work on and strengthen many of the ideas culled in chapters 2 and 4. My dear friend and former Rutgers University librarian, Antoinette Peteet, has been a blessing, a true savior, lending her unwavering support and friendship. Expressing great interest in my project, Antoinette provided her expert assistance in locating important source materials. I have finally made it to the finish line, Antoinette! Thanks for cheering me on to the end! I thank my dear friend and colleague, June Bobb, who has been a staunch supporter of both my academic and personal endeavors. Thanks to my girlfriend, Shondel Nero, for her continued support and for lending a listening ear whenever I needed one. My conference buddies, Renée Larrier, Brinda Mehta, and Adlai Murdoch have navigated the tides and terrains with me literally and figuratively. Your friendship and ongoing support has helped me to weather the storm. I am especially grateful to Abioseh Porter for his generosity and encouragement. A special thanks to my sister-friend, Winnifred Brown-Glaude, with whom I shared the rewards and challenges of maintaining a sensible balance between family obligations and academia. I am grateful to my childhood friend, Alana Holmes, who offered me her open arms, heart, and home (in Jamaica) whenever I required some needed rest and relaxation. I give special thanks to my girlfriends Karen King-Aribisala and Paula Walcott for their continued love, support, and friendship. Andre Nelson has been a patient and avid listener as I brainstormed some of the original ideas of this manuscript and as I tried to identify the proper placement—either chronologically or thematically—of the chapters. I am indebted to my parents, Frank and Evadnie James, who planted the seed of desire and hope in me at a very young age. I, especially, thank my mother who stressed the relevance and rewards of hard work and determination . Mama, indeed, the “heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Whenever I entertain the thought of retreat, I am reminded of your favorite and often repeated refrain. My siblings, Gregory and Dalero James, who cloak me in their unconditional love and support, are a blessing and an inspiration. To my nephew, Gregory James Jr., and niece, Gia James, who I hope will be truly inspired by this book. Aunty loves you! viii · Acknowledgments Acknowledgments · ix To the wonderful and inspiring young men, Jason, Amani, and Akeem, in my life, who light up my life and give...