by Maia Chung
"The Caribbean's literary representatives are not addressing our political representatives". Anyway not nearly as enough as they need to ensure the further development of the region's literary realm. This is the consensual view of several writers, academics, literary critics and publishers who gathered in Guadeloupe in April between the 6 to the 9, for that country's second Congress of the Association of Caribbean writers.
Organisers of the Congress described the event as one that was set to - tackle the discernment of the various obstacles that impede the necessary interconnections to the development of a truly unshackled literary creation, for genuine fully-fledged writing. According to the Regional Council of Guadeloupe, the entity behind the event - the binding theme of the event was set along the triptych - " Circumstances, Conditions and Issues of Literary Creation in the Caribbean".
Against this background the various plenary sessions and scheduled round table discussions focused on; literary creation,readership, criticism, publishing,edition, distribution, translation, as well as monolingual and bilingual editorial strategies. This year's conference attracted participants from the Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, the United States, Grenada, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Writers the likes of Erna Brodber, Earl Lovelace, Olive Senior, Suzanne Dracius, George William Lamming, Chiqui Vicioso, Ariel Camejo, Griselle Merced among other regional literary stars made the trip to Guadeloupe to participate in the event - with a view to making the Caribbean a better place for our authors and those who read them.
Even as the various issues elected for ventilation occupied the writers and their thought processes, quite a bit of the examination focused on the issues of translation. Like how do we break down the barriers to literary insularity created by the many different tongues, in which the creations are produced? The veritable "Babel" like constitution of the region, needs enhanced and consistent focus by all nations - especially the issue of translation.
With the host country for the conference being located in the French Antilles, the majority of the discussions examined how do we bring the Anglophone and Francophone territories into a greater cohesiveness, using existing literature?
It is this conundrum that sparked the writers' collective opinion that the region's literary representatives need to engage the support of the political forces more, as any real solution to this problem and others affecting the literary community - is seen as being more concrete if directed by the region's Governments.
How will governments help? In ways such as mandating through the CXC - the region's children being required to learn a language of the region, not their native tongue; as a requisite of any secondary school course of study.
These are some initiatives that must have direction, outside of the literary circles.
This Anglophone Francophone translation issue extends to the Spanish speaking and Dutch territories as well.
But even as they crave translation and more unity, the participants feel however that this must not come at the cost of dilution of an individual country's culture and identity.
So how does the region address this issue without robbing the people involved of their uniqueness, as evidenced through the very language in which they create? This all acknowledge, may not be the easiest task to accomplish.
So why is important that we become more attuned to each other as neighbours and extended families in this region? Especially using our literature. Well those attending assert that the imaginative world is a great escape tool for the negatives which now assail the region.
Many expressed the view that the pervasive racism and ethnic divides can be healed through our literary creations, when each nation and people can see the perspectives of their Caribbean neighbours.
Contextualised against globalisation, the writers feel that using the literary sphere - the region can become a more unified force, which is an obvious requirement to successfully dealing with the rest of the world.
Europe has unified and become a stronger world force, the Caribbean needs to do so also. A unified Caribbean has been a long standing goal from the days of Federation and now as seen through the efforts at 'CARICOM- ising' the region.Strength is in unity. And literature must be grasped as a part of the way forward. There is a great concern among these powerhouses who gathered together, about translations robbing the works translated, of their true meaning.
There is the issue of the various creole languages and the meanings which are conveyed by these lexicons, which may not necessarily read well when put in the tongue of another country. Perplexing indeed. There is a validity in the statement 'lost in translation'. And does the region have the talent necessary to mount this massive undertaking?
But there is courage among our literary set, despite these vast concerns - all feel it must be tried.
Also among the topics explored were some of the perceived barriers to unification. Cited as one such negative is the expense of air travel. Many at this year's event feel that the prohibitive costs of air fare will now more than ever prevent our ability to explore each other directly.Suggestions are being made that the region needs to establish a more affordable method of traveling between the region's countries.
The writers are asking for a re-examination of the use of the waterways; with sea travel, being less expensive than air fare. We need to do more about sharing with each other. This idea has validity in a wider context when juxtaposed against how difficult it is becoming to travel to other continents - with security issues and visa requirements becoming more and more restrictive.
The writers posit that languages take on more realism when people get to use them. The writers feel that if translation of the works is one step to healing the literary insularity which pertains, another is using more of the region's writers' works as a part of the education resources assigned to out students. Caribbean literature should be a staple of the Caribbean youth.They all agree that this area is woefully lacking.
Another issue of concern at this year's congress is the impact of the digital book on publishing in the region.
The fall off in reading of the traditionally produced books and the negative impact this has had on the publishing industry globally and in the Caribbean as well - is being felt in a very real way here.
The digital development is driving many publishers out of business and resulting in less avenues for literary output - with the long term effect being predicted as stunting the literary growth within the Caribbean.
But in all this there is an optimistic assessment of the digital book, by the region's literary community, as the invention of the wheel did not eliminate walking.
Attendees feel that there will be still be viable traditional book publishing despite the digital development.
There is a call for unification of the region's publishers. Ideas include , a unified publishers alliance that creates a structure for distribution throughout the West Indies and those attending the Conference say this must happen before the end of 2011. There is the belief among those who gathered that the region's Universities need augment the publishing that they now do. Cited as centre's of learning and philosophical influence, our Universities especially as publishers of literature; are seen by our writers as having a great advantage, in carrying out much of the work necessary to break apart the literary insularity, which is of concern to the writers.
But who will fund these grandiose schemes? All ideas lead the discussants back to governments and the necessary political will.
Uppermost in the minds of this year's attendees is the need to expand the Caribbean's literary production , in the existing regional space. They feel it is necessary to awaken further a more heightened literary consciousness.
They say there needs to be more acknowledgment that the greatest strength of our literary corpus, even against the background of our great literary achievements; lies in an integrative approach to all the barriers.
This is how the literary contributions will enhance the lives of the all West Indians.
