Festival Five of the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival

Join us at the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival from September 7-10, celebrating Caribbean literature and voices, both local and Diaspora.

on Sep 07, 2023

Festival Five of the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival | Frontlist

The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) returns to New York City this September for its fifth season, running from Thursday, September 7, to Sunday, September 10.

The BCLF stated that it celebrates Caribbean literature and the region's tradition of storytelling, with a focus on Caribbean writers from the region and the Diaspora.

"Caribbean thought and intellectualism, which are often underrepresented in popular culture, now have a unique platform to be celebrated, appreciated, and thrive," the BCLF said in a statement.

BCLF, the Caribbean Diaspora's main literary festival, stated that its multifarious programming "continues to amplify, expand, and showcase the notable contributions of Caribbean and Caribbean American writers."

The Centre for Fiction, the Brooklyn Borough President, Greenlight Bookstore, and Target Corporation have all expressed support for BCLF's initiatives.

BCLF announced this year that it was a winner of the prestigious Hawthornden Foundation's initial grants.

"For the past four years, the BCLF festival has brought together talented writers, captivating storytellers, and passionate literature enthusiasts from all walks of life." It's an ode to culture, variety, and the power of words. Festival 5 will be packed with more events than any previous year. "It's a must-attend four-day experience," stated Mellany Paynter, Director of Operations.

The BCLF stated that since its beginning in 2019, it has hosted over 250 Caribbean writers, publishers, and creatives, including prominent contemporary and classic authors such as Jamaica Kincaid, Elizabeth Nunez, Tiphanie Yanique, Velma Pollard, and P. Djeli Clark.

This year, from September 7 to 10, BCLF claimed readers will be able to "experience this dynamic literary festival" as it takes Caribbean stories and storytelling to the forefront of New York's culture scene.

"Festival 5 is a triumphant declaration of the Caribbean spirit and its people's determination to thrive." "This year, we are combining various disciplines (film, music, and indigenous art forms) with a story at their core in celebration of Caribbean culture," said Festival Founder Marsha Massiah-Aaron.

The four-day festival will include panel discussions, a film screening, a Kalinda workshop, and poetry readings at events such as "Writing For The Future," which will feature writers who write Caribbean stories for children.

"5 Minutes With Elizabeth Nunez," an original BCLF short film series celebrating a selection of novels by Elizabeth Nunez, and "Bad Man Doh Cry," a literary conversation about the norms, dynamics, relationships, and rites of passage of Caribbean masculinity through the works of three award-winning male writers, are also on its schedule.

"We are nothing without our stories." "Our work at the BCLF has been to insist that those who own these stories and share them with the world be properly acknowledged, credited, and celebrated," Massiah-Aaron explained.