Global Voices Online

Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp acknowledges the passing of E.A. (Archie) Markham, “a Caribbean literary giant”, while Nicholas Laughlin at Antilles says: “I deeply regret never having the chance to meet him, to match the wry, generous voice of his poems, fiction, and correspondence to the wryly generous man.”

“This victory is so huge given the history of South African tours”: Abeni is thrilled that the West Indies cricket team have finally won a test match.

“Does anyone actually know of any (other) company where this sort of thing happens and the persons responsible are not seriously reprimanded?” asks West Indies Cricket Blog, on hearing news of the West Indies Cricket Board's latest bungle.

Caribbean Beat Blog reports that despite the Soufriere Hills volcano eruption that began in 1995, the remaining inhabitants of the island are still celebrating their annual Montserrat Festival in style!

“You might think that the position is so blighted that no one wants it, or you may think it just odd that only one name apiece was tossed into the circle for the posts of president and vice-president of the West Indies Cricket Board.” Vaneisa Baksh at CaribbeanCricket.com weighs in on the WICB's upcoming elections.

“Brooklyn sometimes feels like it is part of the Caribbean,” writes Caribbean Beat Blog, reporting on an upcoming exhibition of contemporary Caribbean art at the Brooklyn Museum.

Guadeloupe Attitude writes (Fr): “Mrs. Deborah Jones, Governor of the British island of Montserrat, ordered yesterday the evacuation of the volcano's North West zone. About 50 households are involved. La Soufriere Hills began erupting about a week ago. Monday, smoke columns over 7 kilometers high seeped out of it and the volcano spat out numerous volcanic rocks, an imminent danger to neighbors. We … in Guadeloupe hold our Montserrat brothers affectionately in our thoughts.”

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to a Radio Kiskeya news article stating (Fr): “The 2d Caribbean Women's Forum ended the evening of November 10th in Fort-de-France, Martinique with the participation of a Haitian delegation led by Feminine Condition Minister Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue … Delegations from various Caribbean countries (Guadeloupe, Dominica, Saint-Lucia, Haiti, Jamaica, Antigua, Martinique) had a two-day exchange around the theme ‘Women and Decision-making'.”

“. . . it's interesting how these festivals have echoed, in a small way, the evolution of their original model in Trinidad, as a vehicle of solidarity, an assertion of identity, a gesture of defiance in a hostile environment,” says Jeremy Taylor, writing about the Carnivals “exported” by the Caribbean to the likes of London and New York.