Beyond Sangre Grande: Caribbean Writing Today ed. by Cyril Dabydeen (review)

Cyril Dabydeen has produced a fine anthology which strives, as he explains, ‘to find a greater relevance in and acceptance of the diaspora … to extend the Caribbean space beyond “borders” or accepted boundaries.’ Many of this anthology’s writers do not live in the Caribbean but write from such places as Toronto (‘the Caribbean of the North’), other Canadian cities, the United States, or elsewhere. As Dabydeen questions, ‘[w]ho or what is truly West Indian or Caribbean in an inexorably changing world with complex, evolving identities and cultures?’

This anthology includes a relatively balanced selection of poetry and prose and an almost equitable representation of men and women (nineteen out of forty-three writers are female) which is refreshing. Dabydeen has also represented the diversity of the West Indies by publishing voices which speak or grow out of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Grenada, Guyana, Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia. Notably, Trinidad is the most represented, with Guyana a close second and Jamaica the third.

Admittedly, every anthology leaves itself open to significant criticisms. This is the nature of anthologizing, and the larger the project and the more terrain it promises to cover, the more criticisms it invites. That recognized, there are several weaknesses with Dabydeen’s anthology.

Most strikingly, where is Dionne Brand? Since Dabydeen notes that ‘the overriding criterion for selection in this anthology [was] aesthetic quality,’ it is truly strange that Brand is not represented. She is undeniably the strongest writer to have emerged from the Caribbean since Walcott and Brathwaite (though many note Goodison completes the triumvirate). If there were copyright issues or the theoretical decision to respect Brand as a poet of the world (and to avoid pinning her to region), okay. But this exclusion should have been explained. There was also only one poem by Goodison included. Many poets are represented by only one poem – which allows for the inclusion of more poets and wider coverage of Caribbean writing. However, in this respect, Dabydeen’s representation of poetry does not seem as strong as his coverage of prose (which is quite strong, with Austin Clarke, Brenda Flanagan, and Horace Goddard standing out). While including full short stories means we get a sense of prose writers and their aesthetics and voices, the inclusion of only one poem per poet (often the case) allows for an awareness of the poet but not really a true sampling of her or his work. Dabydeen’s anthology, then, could be said to provide important introductions to people writing from a Caribbean space (physical or otherwise).

What is also questionable is Dabydeen’s decision to include Jamaican poets Opal Palmer Adisa and Geoffrey Philip rather than, in order of significance, Shara McCallum (the most exciting poet to have emerged from Jamaica in the last two decades), Ishion Hutchinson (a freshly powerful and already lauded voice), Jacqueline Bishop, and Kei Miller. I also question why Dabydeen does not include Loretta Collins Klobah from Puerto Rico (while her first collection, The Twelve-Foot Neon Woman, perhaps came out too late for consideration, she has been publishing powerful poetry for years in notable journals). It also seems strange that there is no Kwame Dawes (though Dabydeen might simply have determined he did not need the promotion like others).

Beyond Sangre Grande, like so much published literature today, is also dominated by voices from the academy. Many of this anthology’s writers are associated with a university. It would have been nice to have seen more working-class voices represented and, as well, a variety of different forms – especially in poetry. There is no dub poetry, for example (and Dabydeen could have considered Jamaican master Mutabaruka and/or wunderkind d’bi young anitafrika). The subtitle of this anthology – Caribbean Writing Today – is also a tad misleading as there is only poetry and prose (no drama, music, autobiography, etc.).

This all said, Beyond Sangre Grande is competent, beautiful at times, and a welcome addition to...