Source: The Ministry of Friendship: A review of Arundhati Roy’s (non)-fiction “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”
The Ministry of Friendship: A review of Arundhati Roy’s (non)-fiction “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”
A.L. Rougier (© June 2017) A teaser from a much longer review manuscript: There is something interesting happening within the pages of this book. It is a novel but it is not completely fiction, it’s more like (non)-fiction. It is doing something different, hence my reasoning for calling it a literary unicorn. It is innovative…
The Anatomy of a Man: Maurice Bishop & 5th June, 1983
I don’t use the words “political figure” to describe Maurice Bishop for many reasons but the most pressing of them is this: I see humanity in his leadership through his words, his speeches and the manner in which he lived his life, even to the very end as he stood against the cemented wall at…
Revolution versus Rebellion
Abstract: Let them take arms. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots. – Thomas Jefferson Thinking of revolution is a difficult task. I am conflicted as to where I begin and how I should think of and about, the meaning of the word revolution. Initially, I…
Caribbean Man…Derek Walcott
Caribbean Man…Derek Walcott On March 19th, I was scrolling through the photo-feed on my Instagram and I came across a post by Fatima Bhutto. Fatima’s post was a poem by Derek Walcott, the famed Westindian poet and Nobel Prize receiver from the island of St. Lucia, located in the Caribbean Sea. Immediately, I was excited…
New Piece on the Grenadian Referendum published by Public Seminar (The New School for Social Research — November 2016)
What Do You Do with a Massacre? What Do You Do with a Massacre? Grenadians Vote on Constitutional Reforms 33 years After the Assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop Atiba L. Rougier — November 22, 2016 0 Maurice Bishop © Atiba L. Rougier Nine years ago, I came across this article. It had been…
4in X 7in (fragile handle with care)
4in X 7in (fragile handle with care) I am hanging with my Dad today and we’re going to be listening to a tape he made before leaving Grenada. On it, is Maurice Bishop’s last public speech ever made. Daddy taped it on the radio not knowing what will come just a few months later. We…
Maurice Bishop, Grenada’s Boo Radley
The 33rd Anniversary of the Death of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop Maurice Bishop, Grenada’s Boo Radley An elegy for the disappeared and spicy lamentations for the families carrying the burden of loss Brooklyn—New York. Nine years ago, I came across this article. It was the 24th year since the killing of the Grenadian prime minister…
19th October, 1983: As the crows fly above…
As the crows fly above, the sun re-emerges after the light drizzle that moistened the bodies of the protesting crowd. Their bodies glistening with the mixture of sweat and raindrops, and pure adrenaline. At this point, Maurice is surrounded by his comrades, in the Operations Room where major decisions are being made. There is a…
Anniversary: October 1983
(image: not my own) Poem of the Unknown On your breast lay The deep scar of your enemy But you standing cypress did not fall It is your way to die. In you songs of blood and sword In you migrating birds In you the anthem of victory Your eyes have never…
The Grenadian Revolution and the Involvement of the OECS, Caricom & the United States Government
(Photo credit: Caldwell Taylor — Wikipedia on “Saltfish Hall.” Here is the link: https://wikigrenada.com/wiki/Saltfish_Hall) (Photo credit: Ann Elizabeth Wilder. You can find more information from her website @ http://www.thegrenadarevolutiononline.com/) August 2016 — I am in the process of composing a short excerpt on the Grenadian Revolution as we approach the 33rd Anniversary of Maurice Bishop’s…
Reflections on Bhopal: “Neither Victims Nor Executioners”[1]
(Photos are not mine) (I will be presenting a paper later this year on the Bhopal Gas Leak of 1984. Below is the abstract to my paper presentation. It was written in the fall of 2015. By the presentation’s date, I am sure further edits will have occurred). What I want to live and die…
