By: Staff Writer
July 30, 2021
The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival will have its event hosted virtually for the second year in a row, but will still facilitate the vibrant discussions around Caribbean literature that it is known for.
In an emailed response to the Caribbean Magazine Plus, The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) said that their annual literary festival is a “celebration of culture as expressed through the pen of the storyteller and the voice of the poet.
“We aim to amplify the excluded stories of Caribbean people who have long contributed to and built the diverse heritage of New York City. Our vision is to create a platform for community ownership of the narratives of Caribbean people.
“The BCLF is a celebration of culture as expressed through the pen of the storyteller and the voice of the poet. Our platform is designed to facilitate vibrant conversations about Caribbean identity via a series of readings of classic and contemporary stories, podcasts, and conversations.”
The highlight of their work is the annual capstone festival which is supported by ever-evolving year-long programming. This year’s literary festival will be held during September 10-12 virtually.
The BCLF is keen on exploring the rich depth of Caribbean culture and its centuries’ long tradition of storytelling, with the hopes of empowering and motivating the hidden storyteller of Caribbean descent to find the courage to tell his/her own story and write from the unique lens of that heritage.
Their email went on to say, “Historically, external persons have owned the narratives of Caribbean people. The BCLF places power back to the Caribbean community and our storytellers to share our stories on our own terms. This is not only an ethical responsibility of the platform to Caribbean people; we believe that representation is important in diaspora geographies.
This year’s event, like the one in, 2020 will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s concerns, of which BCLF also said: “Our platform is designed to facilitate vibrant conversations about Caribbean identity via a series of readings of classic and contemporary stories, podcasts, and conversations. The highlight of our work is the annual capstone festival held each September, which is supported by ever-evolving year-long programming including a podcast, book launches and a virtual bookstore on Bookshop.org.
“The BCLF is keen on exploring the rich depth of Caribbean culture and its centuries’ long tradition of storytelling, with the hopes of empowering and motivating the hidden storyteller of Caribbean descent to find the courage to tell his/her own story and write from the unique lens of that heritage. We work tirelessly to promote the Caribbean literature genre to cultural enthusiasts, bibliophiles and lit-lovers.”
This year the festival’s theme is A Tapestry of Words and Worlds and hopes to explore the connections, ties and bonds between ancestral lands and the diaspora communities they have birthed. The 3 day festival will run from September 10-12, 2021 via Zoom and consists of nine novel events featuring some of the best writers of our time.
Marsha Massiah-Aaron, the BCLF’s co-founder and festival director, in her bio on their website, describes herself as a 20 year veteran of events planning and management, she then “migrated to her passions to its happy place: the intersection of Caribbean stories, culture and history.
Her bio added: “The BCLF was born out of her fiery devotion to her heritage and the need to promote the islands to which she is eternally indebted. Yearly, she mirrors Explainer’s Lorraine and leaves NY and her career as an instructional designer in healthcare behind. She dons wings and flies south to play ah Mas in the greatest festival on Earth – although she despises drinking rum.”
She is a proud honours graduate of the University of the West Indies, lists a three-day stint in a roti shop among her wealth of work experience, and is obsessed with proving that one can indeed, with exercise, outwork a steady diet of cake and pone.
Mellany Paynter, BCLF’s other co-founder and director of operations is described in her bio as a “Creative Entrepreneur who combines her passion for writing and all-round wellness, and her extensive project management experience to help individuals tell their stories through print and digital works.
She is a graduate of Howard University (the real HU), with a degree in Civil Engineering. As a freelance writer/editor for over 20 years, she writes for individuals and companies, creating content and managing digital platforms.
“In 2016, she wrote and published her memoir, Dancing At The Crossroad – A Grief Recovery Journal after losing her mother unexpectedly. As tech Founder/CEO of All About The Sisters, she hosts a podcast and champions wellness for WOC.”
Although an island girl who enjoys a good ‘buss up shut’ and curry, she considers herself a world citizen antsy to take her rightful place in the travel world.