There are so many passages in which she imagines a queer future. She falls in love with a classmate, Gwen, and later has similar feelings about another girl. Annie is a fierce mess who speaks her mind, who knows herself, who wants and longs and struggles. There is so much going on in this brilliant 150-page book: identity formation, grief, queer self-discovery, the ways that culture, geography, and family shape (and sometimes warp) a person’s understanding of the world. This is just one reason I love reading in community so much. Kiki has pointed out, in her newsletters and in conversations we’ve had, that a lot of academic critique hasn’t adequately engaged with the queerness that is explicit (and implicit) in the text. Many of her books (including Annie John ) are not labeled as queer. Reading her is also opening up so many doorways in my brain about queerness and how we talk about it. Kincaid is an amazing writer her books are thorny and surprising and often quite funny. I admit I hadn’t given much thought to Jamaica Kincaid until I joined Kiki’s We Read Jamaica Kincaid readalong, which has been an incredible experience so far. So, in honor of this book and many others I have loved, here’s a Read Caribbean newsletter. It’s one of the best queer books I’ve ever read. I finished Cereus Blooms at Night last week and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. My own foray into Caribbean lit has been beautifully influenced by Kiki ( )-in fact, all three of these books are ones I doubt I would have read if she hadn’t recommended them! #ReadCaribbean is an initiative founded by Cindy ( ), a Jamaican reader and all-around book person who uses her platform to celebrate Caribbean lit and encourages everyone else to do the same! Five years ago she launched Read Caribbean Month, which happens every June. Is this something you’d pay for? Please let me know in this one-question survey ! One idea I’m tossing around right now is a weekly curated booklist of new queer releases for paying subscribers. In other news: Books & Bakes is just over two years old! It’s changed a lot in the past two years, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it keeps changing. Mathieu, two poetry collections I can’t stop thinking about. I’ll be closing out the June Books for Trans Rights Fundraiser at the end of the week, so if you’ve been waiting to get some books, now’s your chance! A few of my favorites are still available, including Freedom House by KB Brookins and Milk Tongue by Irène P.
It’s been hard to settle back into working after such an intense reading (and writing and thinking and feeling) experience. Greetings, book and treat people! I spent most of the weekend rereading (and writing about) Alexander Chee’s masterful memoir-in-essays How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.
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