National Library of Jamaica

Wherein I donate a copy of From Caves of Rotten Teeth (as well as one of my father's books, From the Tide) to the NLJ. The librarians were professional yet personable, the reception was warm and (seemed) heartfelt. Rememberable.

Short Story in Mission at Tenth Volume 3

Buy here.

The Launch of Mission at Tenth Volume 3

WHAT: Launch party for San Francisco's inter-arts journal "Mission at Tenth"

WHERE: California Institute of Integral Studies, 1453 Mission Street, San Francisco

WHEN: Saturday, March 31st, 6-7 p.m.

FREE: All welcome

Volume 3, the "double helix" issue features workbook drawings by Action Architect & Choreographer Elizabeth Streb, fiction by A. Igoni Barrett, poetry by Jane Hirshfield, Thermoformed "Biomes" from Exploratorium "Visions" winner Meeson Pae Yang, and much more. The event will include a panel of contributors: photographer Barbara Parmet, videographer Zig Gron, performance artist Johanna Poethig and Gawker blogger/co-author of How to Defeat Your Own Clone (and other tips for surviving the biotech revolution), Terry Johnson.

[GOT THE POWER: MINNESOTA, 15' X 6' X 2'. Bayeté Ross Smith. Found objects collected locally outside of the Twin Cities, installed at Franconia Sculpture Park, Shafer, Minnesota]

Short Story in NigeriansTalk

Short story entitled When It Comes, Will It Come Without Warning? in the latest edition of NTLitmag. (Author's note: story best read in tandem with this.)

Farafina Books

Farafina Books has bought the Nigerian rights to my second book.

Kingston Book Festival 2012

I'll give a talk at this festival. Here's a snippet from the press release:

The Book Industry Association of Jamaica will stage the Kingston Book Festival, March 11 - 17 2012. The weeklong series of activities includes a church service, book readings at Kingston venues, an exhibit of rare Jamaican books at the National Library and a publishing workshop. The Festival culminates in a large book fair at Emancipation Park on Saturday, March 17. The organizers aim to bring attention to the breadth and diversity of Jamaican publishing and to celebrate the growth of the local book industry over the last 50 years.

Talking Trees Literary Fiesta: Reading

Download an audio clip (22 MB) of my reading at the fiesta.

New Short Story in Kweli Journal

A new short story (to be included in my forthcoming collection) entitled The Little Girl with Budding Breasts and a Bubble-gum Laugh has just been published in Kweli Journal. It begins thus:

He began to love her when she was nine and had breasts the size of tangerines. She was still in her impetuous phase—she dashed about the house in her underclothes, shrieking with laughter. He was her cousin, her big brother; he was fifteen years older than her. Nobody saw anything suspicious when he clasped her under the arms and spun her—squealing and kicking—in a maypole circle, then pressed her to his chest, all the while grinning like a Nok mask to hide the consternation that her milk-and-sugar smell, her puppy warmth, awakened in his belly. When she was eleven and he came to visit because his uncle, her father, was lying on the sickbed, he placed her on his knee and stroked her legs till she roped her arms round his neck and suffocated him in a cloud of peppermint sniffles and talcum sweat. That night, while he fondled himself, her father died.

Continue reading.

Fiction Forthcoming in Mission at Tenth

Short story. In the Spring 2012 issue of Mission at Tenth, set for release in March.

Talking Trees Tomorrow, Saturday 25 February 2012

Festival programme here, pre-event press coverage here and here, short interview here.