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Olive Senior's "Paradise Once," is a on this month's reading picks in Caribbean Beat! Read the whole review here:
https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-196/book-buzz-reviews-sep-oct-2026

Available through Akashic Books at https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/paradise-once/

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“‘Why poetry?’ some might well ask.
Especially at this time. Yet, one of the things that the pandemic is demonstrating is how people around the world are turning to poetry for consolation and emotional sustenance.

Part of the magic of poetry has always been its ability to bring communities together at times of celebration or bereavement.” - @olivetheauthor, World Poetry Day, JA, 2021.

I’ve experienced the truth of this quote and believe in the power of poetry for ‘consolation and emotional sustenance’. Poetry can also be protest, resistance and a safe place for righteous rage.

I used Ms Senior’ words at a virtual gathering held by @blackpsychotherapy: ‘Words Against Forgetting: Poetry, Grief and Collective Remembrance for Prof. Jason Arday. Space was held for people who are turning to poetry as a means to grieve, find sanctuary, be in community, and as an act of remembrance.

It pains me that the reason we were gathered, is because the pandemic of anti-Blackness has taken another life. In the midst of this, I am grateful that through poetry I can offer something, as part of our collective remembrance and response.

Thank you to those who gathered and to @blackpsychotherapy for providing these spaces for people who want and need it.

Please check out the work of @blackpsychotherapy and if you can, support their crowdfunder. The funds raised are to enable them to offer free crisis counselling and group support to those affected by the loss of Prof. Jason Arday. You can find out more via links in their bio.

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Look out for us this Weekend.

- A pre-show Listening Lounge on Thurs 10. Early for the Sister Nancy convo? No problem! Relax with Caribbean audiobooks powered by @getodiyo
@bluebanyanbooks and @bklynlabklynlac.

- Mid show Listening Lounge. Steal away into the sounds of Olive Senior’s beloved ‘Ascot’ on Sat 12 at @center4fiction.

- Special BCLF After Lyme in collaboration with @worldancetv at Rogers Garden on Mon 14.

#Odiyo #OdiyoBooks #CaribbeanStories #readcaribbean #thingstodoinbrooklyn

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SHORT STORY SEPTEMBER | THE PAIN TREE

What happens when people find themselves at a crossroads—between the past and the future, tradition and change, innocence and experience?

In The Pain Tree, acclaimed Jamaican writer Olive Senior takes us across time, place, voice and theme, bringing together stories of revenge, magic, survival, family, loneliness and transformation.

From bargains with the Devil and magical encounters to the quiet heartbreak of children discovering the contradictions of adulthood, Senior’s characters may be rooted in Jamaica, but their struggles are universal.

Rich in Caribbean history, folklore and unforgettable voices, The Pain Tree is a collection that reminds us just how much a short story can hold.

📖 Short Story September
One story. One moment. One life changed.

Discover Olive Senior at Paper Based Bookshop.

#ShortStorySeptember #ThePainTree #OliveSenior #paperbasedbookshop #CaribbeanLiterature #JamaicanLiterature #readcaribbean #ShortStories

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@olivetheauthor thank you 🌱

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Jamaican workers on the Panama Canal outnumbered every other nationality on the French payroll. Olive Senior’s archive research found 12,875 labourers on the books in 1885. Of those, 9,005 were Jamaican. Doctors, druggists, pastors, translators and proofreaders went as well. In 2011 the records were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register under the title Silver Men.

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💙 Blue never looked so good! 💙

There's something about a stack of blue books that promises unforgettable stories. From powerful literary fiction to unforgettable voices, this TBR pile is calling our names.

So... what's on your TBR stack right now?

Are you reaching for:
💙 Gone to Drift by Diana McCaulay
💙 One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie
💙 Love Forms by Claire Adam
💙 Paradise Once by Olive Senior
...or another blue beauty?

Drop your current read or next read in the comments—we're always looking for our next great book!

#paperbasedbookshop #TBRStack #BlueBooks #BookStack #ReadersOfInstagram #BookLovers #BooksOfInstagram

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Another one we missed 🤦🏾‍♀️. Thank you for putting me on, Jay 💚

About the Book: A historical novel that brings to life the resiliency of the indigenous Taíno people in the Caribbean whose culture was virtually destroyed within two generations of their “discovery” by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

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What a journey this has been!
I spent years reading many of these authors or discovered some of them along the way.
What and honour it is for my book #blackcaketurtlesoupandotherdilemmas to be a part of the same curated book collection @torontolibrary by Dr. Rita Cox

A few other authors include
@nourbesephilip
@canisia.lubrin
@charlesc.smith
@dany.laferriere
@olivetheauthor
@mr.pardyyyyyy
@dwayne_morgan #torontocanada

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More than 90,000 Jamaicans travelled to Panama to help build one of the greatest engineering feats in history.
In this clip from Panama Dreams, Dr. Olive Senior @olivetheauthor reflects on the politics around who was allowed to go.

🎥: Panama Dreams (2018) watch on Pavilion+

Join the Pavilion+ WhatsApp Channel 🩵

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The Panama Man wasn't just known for building the Canal, he became a style icon back home.

From tailored suits to the latest watches, these returning workers brought confidence, fashion, and a new sense of possibility to communities across the Caribbean.

Interviewer: Dr. Olive Senior
@olivetheauthor

🎥: Panama Dreams (2018) watch on Pavilion+

Join the Pavilion+ WhatsApp Channel 🩵

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