Martin Carter’s House, Lamaha St., Georgetown, Guyana (author’s photo, taken February 2024) “This is the dark time, my love”. Martin Carter (1927-1997), Guyanese poet. Carter wrote this poem sometime between 1953-54 during British rule in Guiana (pre-independence spelling). A time when Churchill’s Government sent troops to a country that had recently elected a socialist government, posing … Continue reading Is this the dark time, my love?
Tag: writing
Is this real?
Image taken 24 February 2026. I took this photograph a few days ago on a walk close to where I live. A lone tree surrounded by life; woods, fields, wild animals, a few humans and an abundance of life, both above and below ground. I wondered if the tree still lived or if it had … Continue reading Is this real?
How can our memories create optimistic futures?
Some more reading material – author’s collection As a young black woman in North London in the 1970s, the present looked bleak. The ‘SUS laws’, dating back to the Vagrancy Act of 1824, were in force. Black and other minority groups were stopped, searched and arrested on the suspicion of loitering, or on the assumption of … Continue reading How can our memories create optimistic futures?
What happens when we press ‘pause’?
It is hard to stop the flow of information that mimics truth but has no history, no back story, only a present. The visual and emotional stimuli all around us leave little space and time for our minds to think about what is happening outside of ourselves and within. Time for internal dialogue, connection and … Continue reading What happens when we press ‘pause’?
Whose Truth?
Author's photograph, Jaime's 1920 Underwood typewriter Everyone has dreams and everyone has a story. A wise Rwandan father would tell his children as they went to sleep; “At the end of the day, everyone has a story.” But most stories will never be heard. They are not written in books, nor shared in literary circles. … Continue reading Whose Truth?
What if we …
Author’s image taken 30 April 2025 “This is the time when artists go to work. Not when everything is alright. Not when it looks sunny. It’s when it’s hard. And I thought of all those people who wrote in prisons, in gulags, under duress, they were doing it… so it’s more interesting to me, the … Continue reading What if we …
What’s in a name?
The open wooden boat with an outboard motor, moored under the Canje bridge at the confluence of the Berbice River, held just ten passengers close together on three wooden planks, 2-3-3, in addition to the captain and the guide sitting on the edge of the stern. We ranged in ages from about 20 to 70, … Continue reading What’s in a name?
When are we bold?
Image credit: Ela Bichler Muñoz When we look back on the year; our remunerated work, the gardening we planned, the holidays we intended, the book project we said we would complete, the course we were going to sign up for, the endless list of goals, we often filter out the good bits, the aha moments, … Continue reading When are we bold?
How can we dance with the minds of others?
Author’s image: 20 October, 07:52 am, Luxembourg Sometimes the whole world seems to stop. You try and catch your breath. You breathe in deeply, but find it hard. The air is stuck, motionless. As you try to blow it out or take another in, there is hope that there will be a shift, some movement … Continue reading How can we dance with the minds of others?
