Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance writer
Marlon James signs copies of his book "John Crow's Devil", at the launch held at Red Bones Blues Cafe, Braemar Avenue recently. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
THE SECOND morning of the Calabash International Literary Festival 2006, Saturday, May 27, began with readings from three recently de-virgined novelists: Lolita Hernandez, Marlon James and Diana Evans in the segment dubbed 'Like a Virgin'.
Neither Madonna, nor pop-music were present as the authors got down to serious literature, delved into the lines of their first novels which dealt with issues ranging from working in an automobile plant, to the demon possessed and finally a tale of twins at the Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth venue. The year's theme was 'Mix but don't Blend In' and the reading and Saturday morning brought the patrons at Jakes' an interesting mix of literature.
Lolita Hernandez was the first of the recently de-flowered to take her place at the bamboo podium on the thatch-roofed stage. She read from her book Autopsy of an Engine and Other Stories from the Cadillac Plant, published in 2004 by Coffee House Press and winner of the 2005 PEN Beyond the Margins Award. A native of Detroit, Hernandez had herself worked in a Cadillac plant for 21 years.
The assembly line has often been used as a trope in literature for the desolation, isolation and hopelessness of modern living. Hernandez' tales however, explored how the noises of the plant became the soundtrack of the lives of the workers. She began her reading with 'This is Our Song for Today', a tale of loneliness, but filled with hope and possibility.
Jamaica's Marlon James followed in Hernandez' wake with a reading from John Crow's Devil, published by Akashic Books. James declared himself to be a true 'Calabashite', noting that a segment of the novel had been previously read in the open-mic segment of the festival a few years earlier. James is also a fellow of the Calabash Writers Workshop. John Crow's Devil was short-listed for both the Commonwealth Writer's Prize (First Book) category and the L.A. Times Book Prize for First Fiction.
His spicy reading of the fight between good and evil, damnation and lust contrasted beautifully with Hernandez' more quiet fiction. The writing is witty, lively and engaging as the characters leap from the page limping under the pressures of their flawed existences.
As the morning's heat rose Diana Evans of the United Kingdom took to the stage. She read from 26a, winner of the inaugural Orange Award for New Writers. Evan's exploration of the lives of twins as they move from the United Kingdom to Africa brought the first segment to a close.
The 2006 International Literary Festival came to an end on Sunday evening after two days of literature and music.
