Presented by The Forum for Caribbean Writers and Readers, in collaboration with PEN Canada
Moderator: Melanie Newton, Chair, Graduate Program and Professor of History and Caribbean Studies
Join us for a captivating evening with renowned Jamaican writer, Olive Senior. This event is a unique opportunity to hear from one of the most influential voices in Caribbean literature. Senior’s work delves into the rich tapestry of Jamaican culture, history, and identity, offering a perspective that is both insightful and thought-provoking. Don’t miss out on this chance to connect with a literary icon and hear a reading of the historical novel Paradise Once: seen through the eyes of the indigenous people of the Caribbean, the Taino.
Light refreshments provided. No registration required.
📗 About the book
PARADISE ONCE traces the aftermath of the massacre by Spanish forces of the fictional Maima village in Cuba in 1513. Some believe the destruction of Maima is the result of angering the cemíes—Taíno spiritual entities—when foreign practices, contrary to the sacred laws of the Taíno, began to infiltrate the village. Four young people who survive the massacre are unwittingly chosen by the cemíes to save a Sacred Bundle and return it to a cave in the Cauta mountain, the mythological place the Taíno are believed to have come from: Sekou, an enslaved African born in Spain who has aligned himself with the Taíno resistance; Night Orchid, a young girl and the reluctant bearer of the Sacred Bundle; the young Taíno noble Heart of Palm; and finally Flint, whose mother is part of the “Old Ones,” a remnant group of people on the islands displaced by the Taíno.
The four survivors start off on separate paths and only learn of their roles in the sacred mission when they unite at the holy site and encounter the Maima shaman Candlewood. Under the direction of the cemíes, Candlewood guides them into the cave, where the “dark” shaman Shark Tooth—who has sold his soul to the underworld powers—awaits. As they progress on their journey, Candlewood informs them of the leadership roles they are destined to play in the preservation of the Taíno culture. In time, they will together defend the heartland as resistance fighters who will become known in history as Cimarrones or Maroons. But first they must defeat Shark Tooth in a life-or-death battle for the possession of the Bundle in the sacred ball court at Cauta, the fate of the entire Taíno people in their hands.
Senior’s exquisitely crafted historical fiction authentically evokes the spiritual heart of the Taíno people in this love song to the Caribbean.
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