There is also a list of autographs from notables in the broader carnival fraternity in and out of Trinidad and Tobago. Their appearance in the book can be perceived as an attempt to give the work an imprimatur of authenticity. That, and the lengthy list of acknowledgments, are careful deeds.
The author also acknowledges the many people and the long hours they devoted to assisting with the research. Rawlston Charles of Charlie’s Calypso City in New York is one of those and he served as a mentor for this endeavor. He also recommended eCaroh.com as the Internet distributor.
As is to be expected with ‘things carnival’ there will be questioning, at least, of some criteria for compiling certain lists. For instance, can all of those mentioned under “Great Calypsonians of Trinidad and Tobago” be ‘great’ – three hundred and seventy-two persons? If the inclusions and definitions will cause controversy, so too will the exclusions. For example, in a listing of seventy-two Guyanese “calypsonians” Johnny Braff, a balladeer, is shown but Eddy Grant is not.
Despite these factors, or perhaps because of these and other issues, the cognoscenti should take this book seriously. Carnival Woman is one of few sources of a comprehensive attempt to lay out the elements and participants of past and contemporary Trinidad-style Carnival. That style is growing at a rapid pace across North America while there is a paucity of fact based information about the phenomenon. Carnival Woman and its lists can easily fill the void.
Pat Nurse was born in Trinidad and Tobago and came to New York to further her education. She pursued a masters in English (Creative Writing) at The City College (CUNY), and later converted her thesis into a novel – Carnival Woman. It was self-published in August 2002.
Around mid January 2004, Pat Nurse called to say that Carnival Woman had been reprinted and was now available for sale. It was immediately reordered because of its worth as a source of information.
In our Oct 2002 comment when Carnival Woman was first published, the separate section of lists was thought to be “intriguing in their composition and compilation”. They are still very much so. This time the author’s five-page autograph collection increased my regard for the book as a reference source. Idiosyncratic as that might appear, there are many deep stories behind the signatures of the many men and women whose creativity have given birth to our contemporary West Indian personality. A starting point, perhaps, for the next generation of research scholars. [eCaroh/ Ron 2/2004]
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