It’s probably a bit of a cliché by now - a Caribbean novel with scenes of Carnival - but Carnival was such an important part of my childhood, and especially of summer, that it’s bound to sneak in when I'm writing about summer in Antigua. If you come to Antigua between the months of June and early August, you'll find that much of the radio talk, music, and energy there are directed at Carnival. Well, Carnival and politics - but once you begin to understand the lingo, you’ll understand that…

I’m returning this year to the Vagina Monologues, the Antigua and Barbuda edition. It’s a bit like coming home. I was a part of the first local staging of the Eve Ensler play back in 2008. My piece then was the bold Reclaiming Cunt; a strong, sexy, affirming piece. I returned to the production (or rather its local companion When a Woman Moans) in 2010, doing two rather somber pieces; one section of my own Mothers’ Lament and the story of a woman mourning her lost love while standing at his…

by Joanne C. Hillhouse

(This was originally posted at http://signifyinguyana.typepad.com/signifyin_guyana/2010/12/guest-post-writing-off-the-map-by-joanne-c-hillhouse.html)

Somewhere between Little Women, Jane Eyre, Are You There God, it’s me Margaret?, The Last of Eden and any…