Crossing Water: Contemporary Poetry of The English-Speaking Caribbean
Poetry. The poems in CROSSING WATER reflect the multiple face of the Caribbean and, by so doing, defy any easy labeling or categorization. They celebrate a region's language and customs, landscape and seascape, over which Mammon's dark clouds hang threateningly. While the colonial and neo-colonial disappointments may overshadow the beauty, these poems bear witness that they do not (indeed, cannot) destroy it. CROSSING WATER is, therefore, about capacities for survival, ways of defining who...
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\ Library JournalAll serious poetry lovers should read this major anthology, which features 37 Caribbean poets (whose photographs also appear), including such well-knowns as Edward Brathwaite, Dennis Scott, and Derek Walcott. The artists frequently draw on their cultural backgrounds, particularly music, so that the rhythms of reggae infuse the many works and demonstrate how sound creates meaning. Witness these lines from Anthony Kellman's ``Fishing Song'': ``I watch dem, I watch dem every single morning/ come here to wo'k: the Bajan fisherman./ Their journey ain't easy but still they carry on./ The seas may be rough but there's always a rising sun./ I watch dem, I watch dem every single morning/come here to wo'k: the Bajan fisherman.'' However, it is important to note that historical events have also influenced these poets. Highly recommended for its insights into Caribbean culture.-- Lenard D. Moore, United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County, N.C.\ \
