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Welcome to. “Assembling Memory: The Poetic and Pedagogical Legacy of Merle Collins” with Chenelle John-Heard and Dr. April Shemak.

[Audio] Welcome to this virtual event with students from Dr. Shemak's English 6301 seminar in Postcolonial Theory and Chenelle John-Heard ( MFA 2018). We are fortunate to be meeting across many different spaces in Texas, the United States mainland, and the Caribbean. The attendees tonight include friends from the SHSU Department of English, the Department of World Languages and Cultures, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, the University of North Carolina, and New York City. Please excuse my computerized " voice" –because of health issues, I have speech difficulties, and it is easier to have my computer "read" for me. Throughout this semester, my 6301 class has examined the literary impact of European colonialism. We are now examining the role of the United States as a colonial power in the hemisphere. Last week, we examined colonialism and the Virgin Islands, and the cultural responses to the " Fireburn" labor uprising and colonial history of the Virgin Islands. We will spend the next hour talking with a former SHSU MFA student and an emerging Caribbean poet, Chenelle John-Heard, who is joining us from St. Croix, Virgin Islands. I am Dr. April Shemak and I had John-Heard as a student in both undergraduate and graduate courses at SHSU. I was also a member of her MFA thesis committee for her poetry thesis Lemongrass Memories, which reflects the influence of Afro-Caribbean writers such as the Grenadian writer Merle Collins. I'll give you a bit of background to preface today's discussion-- Merle Collins was on my PhD dissertation committee at the University of Maryland-College Park and it was from her that I learned a deep and broad understanding of Caribbean literature, which I bring to my own teaching. Collins was also the dissertation director of Dr. Tanya Shields, who is with us tonight from the University of North Carolina, where she teaches in the Women's and Gender Studies department. Dr. Shields is the co-editor of the special issue of the journal Caribbean Quarterly in which our article, " Assembling Memory: The Poetic and Pedagogical Legacy of Merle Collins" will be published. I give you this background because it demonstrates how we got here tonight. So, onto the rest of our discussion..

[Audio] Please help things run smoothly: 1. mute your microphones to cut down on background noise 2. Be kind to yourself and others—we are here to listen and learn! 3. Please save your questions to ask during the question and answer period at the end.

[Audio] Schedule of Events Interview and discussion Poetry reading Question and Answer— audience members will have a chance to ask questions—either verbally by unmuting their mics or putting questions in the chat Note: This event is being recorded and there is closed captioning.

[Audio] Chenelle John-Heard ( MFA, SHSU 2018) Thesis: Lemongrass Memories Assistant Professor of English, University of the Virgin Islands Associate Editor, The Caribbean Writer " Papa Legba Genesis," The Caribbean Writer Virgin Islands Literary Conference moderator.

[Audio] Today's event comes out of our article, " Assembling Memory: The Poetic and Pedagogical Legacy of Merle Collins" by Chenelle John-Heard and Dr. April Shemak The essay is forthcoming in Caribbean Quarterly, special issue Festschrift for Dr. Merle Collins Edited by Dr. Tanya Shields ( Associate Professor, Women and Gender Studies, University of North Carolina) and Dr. Isis Semaj-Hall ( University of the West Indies- Mona) Dr. Tanya Shields is here and will say more about the special issue.

[Audio] Our article addresses the necessity of a decolonial pedagogy: In an English class, this means keeping in mind how literature was used to disseminate colonial ideologies. Scholar Elleke Boehmer emphasizes that print culture was often used to buttress European colonialism: 'Yet empire was itself, at least in part, a textual exercise.'' ( Colonial and Postcolonial Literature, 14). Part of a decolonial pedagogy means to counteract colonial indoctrination by foregrounding historically-marginalized voices and examining literary forms that go beyond traditional British literary forms. For example, in calling for the need for new literary forms that valorize " nation languages"-- creole, patwah, etc.-- Barbadian poet Kamau Brathwaite asserts, "The hurricane does not roar in pentameter" ( History of the Voice)..

[Audio] Our inspiration for our article is the Grenadian poet, Dr. Merle Collins, who retired from the University of Maryland this year. In this video clip, Collins reads Kamau Brathwaite's " The Dust." The video is from the # 40nightsofthevoice YouTube channel. She also mentions the transformative experience of first hearing Brathwaite read his poem when she was a student at the University of the West Indies- Mona..

[Audio] In what follows, I will pose questions to John-Heard that are taken from our article-interview. First, Chenelle, please give a summary of Lemongrass Memories, your MFA thesis..

[Audio] What influence did Merle Collins's work have on you? How important was it to you as a poet to read the work of other Afro-Caribbean poets?.

[Audio] Merle Collins's work is very grounded in the space of Grenada. How does being from St. Croix influence you as a poet?.

[Audio] How is Afro-Caribbean cultural heritage important to you as a writer? For example, what role does it play in your use of language?.

[Audio] Can you elaborate on why/how you use Caribbean spiritual figures in your poetry? For example, discuss how La Diablesse has been associated with a dangerous female sexuality. How are you complicating the portrayal of her?.

[Audio] Can you discuss the use of Caribbean deities in your poetry? Why/how are Papa Legba, La Diablesse, Erzulie, and Adjessi significant for your poetry?.

[Audio] Can you talk about how you address the idea of memory in your poetry? It strikes me that you are evoking a sense of collective memory of the African Diaspora..

[Audio] Chenelle John-Heard poetry reading" Lemongrass"" Papa Legba Genesis"" Seduction"" De Offerin' & De Storm"" Lisette Studies Myriapoda".

[Audio] Q and AAsk questions either byunmuting your mic and verbally asking a questionor,type it in the Zoom chat.