Trinidad Noir: the Classics Edited by Earl Lovelace and Robert Antoni

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Forthcoming from Akashic Books May 2, 2017 PRESS KIT TRINIDAD NOIR: THE CLASSICS EDITED BY EARL LOVELACE AND ROBERT ANTONI

Two of Trinidad’s top literary writers masterfully curate this literary retrospective of the nation’s best writing over the past century. ABOUT TRINIDAD NOIR: THE CLASSICS Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the geographic area of the book. This volume showcases some of the best writing from Trinidad & Tobago’s outstanding literary history. The collection starts with pre-Independence writing—dating all the way back to 1927—and continues through the twentieth century and up to contemporary writers of recent years. The diversity of styles and cultures captured in Trinidad Noir: The Classics is a fascinating reflection of Trinidad. Featuring reprints of classic stories (and poems) by: C.L.R. James, Derek Walcott, Samuel Selvon, Eric Roach, V.S. Naipaul, Harold Sonny Ladoo, Michael Anthony, Willi Chen, Earl Lovelace, Robert Antoni, Elizabeth Nunez, Ismith Khan, Lawrence Scott, Wayne Brown, Jennifer Rahim, Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, Sharon Millar, Barbara Jenkins, and Shani Mootoo. ABOUT EARL LOVELACE Earl Lovelace is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He recently received the Grand Prize for Caribbean Literature by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. ABOUT ROBERT ANTONI Robert Antoni is equal parts Trinbagonian, Bahamian, and US citizen. He is the author of five novels and is the recipient of a NALIS Lifetime Literary Award from the Trinidad & Tobago National Library. ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE AKASHIC NOIR SERIES Trinidad Noir edited by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason Trade paperback original, $16.95, ISBN: 9781933354552 | August 2008 The Caribbean provides no shelter from the delicious terror of the Akashic Noir Series. TRINIDAD NOIR: THE CLASSICS | edited by Earl Lovelace and Robert Antoni | Pub. Date: May 2, 2017 | 256 pages | Fiction/Mystery Trade Paperback Original, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-435-7 | E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-560-6 Review copies upon request | Digital review copies via Edelweiss CONTACT: SUSANNAH LAWRENCE | AKASHIC BOOKS | NEW YORK | [email protected] PRAISE FOR TRINIDAD NOIR THE CLASSICS

March 15, 2017

Lovelace and Antoni offer a “subversive” take on island culture to complement the 21st-century look at Trinidad offered by Lisa Allen-Agostini and Jeanne Mason’s Trinidad Noir (2008).

The editors take what at first blush looks like a historical perspective, starting with stories out of Trinidad’s colonial past, like C.L.R. James’ “La Divina Pastora,” Michael Anthony’s “The Valley of Cocoa,” and Harold Sonny Ladoo’s “The Quiet Peasant,” which emphasize the rural landscape. But Trinidadians are eager to stray from their pastoral roots. In editor Lovelace’s “Joebell and America,” a gambler yearns to seek his fortune in the States. In Ismith Khan’s “Uncle Zoltan,” an expat returns to Port of Spain only to be confronted by his father’s formidable brother. In “The Cricket Match,” Samuel Selvon shows what happens when Trinidadians bring the island’s favorite game to London. As their nation moves from colonial rule, Trinidadians discover that what’s new is old again. They work hard for scant gain, as Jennifer Rahim shows in “Songster.” Too often, their efforts come up empty, as in Willi Chen’s “Assam’s Iron Chest.” And in the end, the madness of Barbara Jenkins’ contemporary “Ghost Story” harks back to V.S. Naipaul’s chill- ing colonial-era “Man-man.”

Whether history repeats itself or progress is stalled by people’s infinite capacity to get in their own ways, these 19 reprinted tales offer a bittersweet perspective on the cussedness of human nature.

March 27, 2017 | Starred Review

To travel through the 19 works of poetry and prose in this remarkable anthology is to experience Trinidad and Tobago through a kaleidoscopic lens. The writ- ings are grouped into four historically significant periods (“Leaving Colonialism,” “Facing Independence,” “Looking In,” and “Losing Control”). It’s an effective construct; the reader experiences island culture and history as a part of its time, formed by a pastiche of nationality, culture, and social class. Standouts abound. The central character in V.S. Naipul’s “Man-man” is a reputedly mad man in a community whose reactions to him move between bemused and violent. Harold Sonny Ladoo tells, in “The Quiet Peasant,” of an impov- erished farmer who unwittingly digs his own grave. An island lilt and sharp humor spice Robert Antoni’s “Hindsight,” about a doctor confronting a singular medical condition. This is not a noir collection in the traditional crime-based sense. Instead, as noted in the introduction, the selections “direct attention to the violence of a society that has not quite settled accounts with the casualties of enslavement and indentureship.”

April 1, 2017

Pairing nicely with 2008’s Trinidad Noir, this retrospective collection features classic stories from writers who were part of the literary wave that crested with Trinidadian independence in 1962. Notable authors include Derek Walcott, V.S. Naipaul, Elizabeth Nunez, Shani Mootoo, and the volume’s editors. Holds strong appeal for fans of noir and literary writing.

“An expansive retrospect of some of the best literature to emerge from Trinidad in the last century . . . Perhaps most importantly, this collection lays a solid foundation that establishes a glimmering hope for Trinidad’s literary future. With all its stunning history, variation, syncreticity and vibrant focus on humanity, Trinidad Noir: The Classics makes it clear that Trinidadian literature must be more globally examined and elevated.” —Black Book Quotes

n the summer of 2004, when Akashic Books published Brooklyn Noir, edited by Tim McLoughlin, we Inever expected it to launch a series. What we had was an editor who was Brooklyn to the bone, born and raised and with generations behind him, visitor to all of the borough’s wildly unique neighborhoods and utterly indifferent to the rarified culture of Manhattan’s literary elite. Tim’s concept was to identify local authors who knew Brooklyn’s neighborhoods even better than he did, to ask them to write original stories, and as its editor to celebrate his beloved and diverse home. As it turned out, this was the perfect model for a series, and we used it to identify editors throughout the country and the world who hold their cities as close to the heart as Tim holds Brooklyn. Now, we have over sixty volumes offering sinister literary tours to national and international cities.

Since that first volume, our Noir Series has been recognized with nominations and awards throughout the mystery and literary world, from the Shamus, Derringer, Macavity, and Anthony Awards to the Pushcart Prize. Two stories published in the Series have won the Edgar for Best Short Story, and in 2013, Akashic founder and publisher Johnny Temple was awarded the Ellery Queen Award, a monumental achievement.

AVAILABLE NOW PARIS NOIR (FRANCE), edited by AURÉLIEN MASSON BALTIMORE NOIR, edited by LAURA LIPPMAN PHILADELPHIA NOIR, edited by CARLIN ROMANO BARCELONA NOIR (SPAIN), edited by ADRIANA V. LÓPEZ & CARMEN OSPINA PHOENIX NOIR, edited by PATRICK MILLIKIN BEIRUT NOIR (LEBANON), edited by IMAN HUMAYDAN PITTSBURGH NOIR, edited by KATHLEEN GEORGE BELFAST NOIR (NORTHERN IRELAND), edited by ADRIAN MCKINTY & PORTLAND NOIR, edited by KEVIN SAMPSELL STUART NEVILLE PRISON NOIR, edited by JOYCE CAROL OATES BOSTON NOIR, edited by DENNIS LEHANE PROVIDENCE NOIR, edited by ANN HOOD BOSTON NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by DENNIS LEHANE, QUEENS NOIR, edited by ROBERT KNIGHTLY JAIME CLARKE & MARY COTTON RICHMOND NOIR, edited by ANDREW BLOSSOM, BRIAN CASTLEBERRY & BRONX NOIR, edited by S.J. ROZAN TOM DE HAVEN BROOKLYN NOIR, edited by TIM McLOUGHLIN ROME NOIR (ITALY), edited by CHIARA STANGALINO & MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI BROOKLYN NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by TIM McLOUGHLIN SAN DIEGO NOIR, edited by MARYELIZABETH HART BROOKLYN NOIR 3: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, edited by SAN FRANCISCO NOIR, edited by PETER MARAVELIS TIM McLOUGHLIN & THOMAS ADCOCK SAN FRANCISCO NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by PETER MARAVELIS BRUSSELS NOIR (BELGIUM), edited by MICHEL DUFRANNE SAN JUAN NOIR (PUERTO RICO), edited by MAYRA SANTOS-FEBRES BUFFALO NOIR, edited by ED PARK & BRIGID HUGHES SEATTLE NOIR, edited by CURT COLBERT CAPE COD NOIR, edited by DAVID L. ULIN SINGAPORE NOIR, edited by CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN CHICAGO NOIR, edited by NEAL POLLACK ST. LOUIS NOIR, edited by SCOTT PHILLIPS CHICAGO NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by JOE MENO ST. PETERSBURG NOIR (RUSSIA), edited by NATALIA SMIRNOVA COPENHAGEN NOIR (DENMARK), edited by BO TAO MICHAËLIS & JULIA GOUMEN DALLAS NOIR, edited by DAVID HALE SMITH STATEN ISLAND NOIR, edited by PATRICIA SMITH D.C. NOIR, edited by GEORGE PELECANOS STOCKHOLM NOIR (SWEDEN), edited by NATHAN LARSON D.C. NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by GEORGE PELECANOS & CARL-MICHAEL EDENBORG DELHI NOIR (INDIA), edited by HIRSH SAWHNEY TEHRAN NOIR (IRAN), edited by SALAR ABDOH DETROIT NOIR, edited by E.J. OLSEN & JOHN C. HOCKING TEL AVIV NOIR (ISRAEL), Edited by ETGAR KERET DUBLIN NOIR (IRELAND), edited by KEN BRUEN TORONTO NOIR (CANADA), edited by JANINE ARMIN & HAITI NOIR, edited by EDWIDGE DANTICAT NATHANIEL G. MOORE HAITI NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by EDWIDGE DANTICAT TRINIDAD NOIR (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO), edited by LISA ALLEN-AGOSTINI HAVANA NOIR (CUBA), edited by ACHY OBEJAS & JEANNE MASON HELSINKI NOIR (FINLAND), edited by JAMES THOMPSON TRINIDAD NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by EARL LOVELACE & ROBERT ANTONI INDIAN COUNTRY NOIR, edited by SARAH CORTEZ & LIZ MARTÍNEZ TWIN CITIES NOIR: THE EXPANDED EDITION, edited by JULIE SCHAPER ISTANBUL NOIR (TURKEY), edited by MUSTAFA ZIYALAN & AMY SPANGLER & STEVEN HORWITZ KANSAS CITY NOIR, edited by STEVE PAUL USA NOIR, edited by JOHNNY TEMPLE KINGSTON NOIR (JAMAICA), edited by COLIN CHANNER VENICE NOIR (ITALY), edited by MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI LAS VEGAS NOIR, edited by JARRET KEENE & TODD JAMES PIERCE WALL STREET NOIR, edited by PETER SPIEGELMAN LONDON NOIR (ENGLAND), edited by CATHI UNSWORTH ZAGREB NOIR, edited by IVAN SRŠEN LONE STAR NOIR, edited by BOBBY BYRD & JOHNNY BYRD FORTHCOMING LONG ISLAND NOIR, edited by KAYLIE JONES LOS ANGELES NOIR, edited by DENISE HAMILTON ACCRA NOIR (GHANA), edited by MERI NANA-AMA DANQUAH LOS ANGELES NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by DENISE HAMILTON ADDIS ABABA NOIR (ETHIOPIA), edited by MAAZA MENGISTE MANHATTAN NOIR, edited by LAWRENCE BLOCK ATLANTA NOIR, edited by TAYARI JONES MANHATTAN NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by LAWRENCE BLOCK BAGHDAD NOIR (IRAQ), edited by SAMUEL SHIMON MANILA NOIR (PHILIPPINES), edited by JESSICA HAGEDORN BERLIN NOIR (GERMANY), edited by THOMAS WOERTCHE MARSEILLE NOIR (FRANCE), edited by CÉDRIC FABRE BOGOTÁ NOIR (COLOMBIA), edited by ANDREA MONTEJO MEMPHIS NOIR, edited by LAUREEN P. CANTWELL & LEONARD GILL BUENOS AIRES NOIR (ARGENTIA), edited by ERNESTO MALLO MEXICO CITY NOIR (MEXICO), edited by PACO I. TAIBO II JERUSALEM NOIR, edited by DROR MISHANI MIAMI NOIR, edited by LES STANDIFORD LAGOS NOIR (NIGERIA), edited by CHRIS ABANI MISSISSIPPI NOIR, edited by TOM FRANKLIN MARRAKECH NOIR (MOROCCO), edited by YASSIN ADNAN MOSCOW NOIR (RUSSIA), edited by NATALIA SMIRNOVA & JULIA GOUMEN MONTANA NOIR, edited by JAMES GRADY AND KIER GRAFF MUMBAI NOIR (INDIA), edited by ALTAF TYREWALA MONTREAL NOIR (CANADA), edited by JOHN McFETRIDGE & JACQUES FILIPPI NEW JERSEY NOIR, edited by JOYCE CAROL OATES PRAGUE NOIR (CZECH REPUBLIC), edited by PAVEL MANDYS NEW ORLEANS NOIR, edited by JULIE SMITH SANTA CRUZ NOIR, edited by SUSIE BRIGHT NEW ORLEANS NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by JULIE SMITH NEW HAVEN NOIR, edited by AMY BLOOM OAKLAND NOIR, edited by JERRY THOMPSON & EDDIE MULLER SÃO PAULO NOIR (BRAZIL), edited by TONY BELLOTTO ORANGE COUNTY NOIR, edited by GARY PHILLIPS SYDNEY NOIR (AUSTRALIA), edited by JOHN DALE

Trinidad Noir edited by Lisa Allen-Agostini & Jeanne Mason

Featuring stories by: Robert Antoni, Elizabeth Nunez, Oonya Kempadoo, Lawrence Scott, Ramabai Espinet, Shani Mootoo, Kevin Baldeosingh, Vahni Capildeo, Willi Chen, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Rian Marie Extavour, Keith Jardim, Jaime Lee Loy, Darby Maloney, Reena Andrea Manickchand, Judith Theodore, Tiphanie Yanique, and elisha efua bartels.

Trade paperback original ISBN: 978-1-933354-55-2 E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-060-1 $16.95 | August 2008

Haiti Noir Kingston Noir edited by Edwidge Danticat edited by Colin Channeri

Trade paperback Trade paperback original

ISBN: 978-1-936070-65-7 ISBN: 978-1-61775-074-8 E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-012-0 E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-117-2

$15.95 $16.95 December 2010 June 2012