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Dark and Unaccustomed Words  by Vahni Capildeo, 2011, Egg Box Publishing, 120pp OF POETRY, DH Lawrence once remarked, “The essential quality of poetry is that it makes a new effort of attention, and ‘discovers’ a new world within the known world.” What of the poetry of Trinidadian poet Vahni Capildeo, whose latest book is published next month?  “This poetry is not for the faint-hearted,” is how Edward Baugh opens a review of Capildeo’s  Undraining Sea . Of her first collection,  No Traveller Returns , the critic Robert Bond, in a review which is not for the faint-hearted, says, “Capildeo’s book attempts a language without intention, to replicate the obscure expression of objectless inwardness, which is sensed to intend toward utopia.” Adding to the cauldron is David Miller who argues that Capildeo’s poetry “is utterly divorced from that unfortunately prevalent tendency to write poems where the words give way to an applauding audience at the next prestigious poetry aw...

I'm a slow reader and am way behind in my reading. But here is a sneak peek at what's at my bedside these days: *   Crick Crack by Merle Hodge and Summer Lightning by Olive Senior. Two Caribbean classics which everybody should read. I recently finished a writing workshop moderated by Hodge, who is a brilliant writer and academic and is also a social activist. The workshop, held under the auspices of the Cropper Foundation, gave unforgettable insight into the thinking and processes of writers like Hodge. I went back to Crick Crack after the workshop, having learnt a lot about writing and checked it out with a fresh perspective. From the start is it is a novel of understated power and I am looking forward to finishing it. The first story of the short-story collection Summer Lightning is its title story. A brilliant piece of writing with a wry, wise but dangerous tone. You have the sense that great literature is unfolding before you, like a chill wind that will not relent. Rea...

From the latest edition of the online journal  Caribbean Review of Books , an excellent feature/interview on  Karyn Olivier's  ACA Foods Free Library  project. READ it here . Photos courtesy Karyn Olivier/CRB.