Writing

Reading Time 2 minsJanuary 16, 2020 “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” – John Muir. The Arrivant? “I was a… rootless man of the world. I could go, belong, everywhere on the worldwide globe.” – Edward K. Braithwaite. In 1975 I was a recent immigrant, a new student at Brooklyn College, when, since one of my professors stressed the importance of current events, I undertook to learn to fold and read the New York Times on my long subway trips. Other commuters–many of whom would get off at the Wall Street and Bowling… Read More »My Public Education was Arrested when I Abandoned the New York Subway — Winthrop R. Holder

Reading Time 2 minsJanuary 16, 2020 In mid-September 2019, I had to retrieve a long-lost book from a friend who works for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) at the Avenue X Station in Coney Island, Brooklyn. As someone slowly (re)embracing public transportation, I pondered reentering my world of the 1970s and 1980s; I resolved to take the subway. And, since I had not completed that week’s NY Sunday Times, I decided to carry reading material for what could be a three-hour round trip. I recalled my early days navigating the underground. But, of course, distance and time often provide perspective. And it… Read More »II. Engaging an Underground Subculture of Reading — Winthrop R. Holder

Reading Time 2 mins January 16, 2020 The daily kaleidoscope of headlines, many in foreign languages, peering out from straphangers’ papers, may have served to remind commuters of the vibrancy of our multilingual, global village when there wasn’t as much government-inspired anti-immigrant sentiment as today. I remember sometimes being impressed by the arresting artwork of a New Yorker cover that I’d buy one. Or a salacious headline, especially from the Daily News or the New York Post, would induce me to buy the newspaper, sometimes only to read half of the article. And, oh, the graffiti, how that “faux-art” led to reflections on what it… Read More »III. Begging to Avoid Trouble — Winthrop R. Holder

Reading Time 6 minsFebruary 2015 Michael Zephyrine Mark, popularly known as M.Z. (the Z is pronounced zed) Mark was born in Mamma Cannes, Saint Andrew’s, Grenada on December 9th 1905. This Brilliant Grenadian was a philosopher, educator, motivational speaker dedicated husband, public lecturer and more. He had such a positive influence on people in Grenada and elsewhere that is our duty to remember him and lift his name high so the world would know about his accomplishments. Once I asked a well- known Grenadian politician if he was familiar with the name M.Z. Mark. He looked puzzled and then told… Read More »M.Z. Mark, a Grenadian icon – Anthony Wendell DeRiggs

Reading Time 1 mins  February 2015 As a testimony to the patriotic pride of Grenada’s songwriters, entertainers and performers, Grenada is certainly a leader among the Caribbean Islands when it comes to anthemic odes. Lord Cassimere Pitt’s “Grenada May God Bless You” is most certainly an inspirational piece that has kept the contributions coming at a steady pace. I can’t imagine what an independence celebration would be like without it. Classics anthems from Rhythm Riders, Levy John, Original Inspector, Black Wizard, Ajamu, Val Adams, Randy Isaacs, Inspector, Carriacou’s Country Boys, just to name a few, give true meaning to our… Read More »Etching our Consciousness With Music: DJ Gus Pays Independence Tribute to our Artists and Musicians

Reading Time 2 minsFebruary, 2015 AJAMU is one of Grenada’s most accomplished musicians. He holds the unprecedented national honor of seven-time Calypso Monarch, winning in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, and 2004. A certified sound engineer, AJAMU plays guitar, keyboards, and drums. He has written, arranged, and produced songs for a number of top Grenadian calypsonians.  In 1997 he was crowned “Male Vocalist of the Year” at New York’s “Sunshine Awards”.  Evidence of AJAMU’s recognition by the international music community is his regular entry in Billboard Magazine’s “Bible of the Music Industry”. At ease in both the soca and… Read More »King Man Ajamu Cyber-side Chats with Big Drum Nation