Sept. 9, 2005 – The latest issue of "The Caribbean Writer," the annual literary anthology produced by the Research Publications Unit of the University of the Virgin Islands, is now available. This 19th edition issue has all the traditional features, including poetry, short stories, personal essays, book reviews and special sections. The book opens with two poems that pay tribute to Virgin Islanders – "Last Assault" written by Arnold Highfield and dedicated to Michael Paiewonsky, and "Tribute to Lloyd 'Dove' Braffith" written by Edgar O. Lake. "Virgin Islanders certainly would enjoy the backward glance offered by these two poems," said the books' editor Marvin E. Williams. "They capture the essence of both men."
One of the three special sections features new work by the award-winning Jamaican writer Velma Pollard.
Another special section is an interview with the Guyanese critic Frank Birbalsingh. In the interview conducted earlier this year, Birbalsingh speaks about the status of Indo-Caribbean literature, the state of the East Indian family in the Caribbean and his experiences of teaching in Guyana, India, France, England, Nigeria, New Zealand and Canada.
The other special section focuses on poetry and prose from Bermuda. "It's a good way to expose to the international community the writing from a specific region or island," Williams said of that section.

"The Caribbean Writer" is a very good collection to add to anybody's library," Williams said. "It continues the tradition of compiling very good Caribbean writing."
Poets published in Volume 19 include Loretta Collins, Vejea Jennings, Laurence Lieberman and Mervyn Morris, along with Virgin Islands poets Sheelagh Fromer and Rudy Wallace. Short fiction selections include work by Ann Cardinal, Geoffrey Phillip and Robert Edison Sandiford. All work published in "The Caribbean Writer" was selected through a blind-copy read by the anthology's editorial board. "I read about a thousand pieces," said Williams, who is also an English professor at UVI.
Book reviews are by noted critics Howard A. Fergus, Nicole Roberts, June D. Bobb and Erika J. Waters, among others.
Volume 19 of is currently available at Memories of St. Croix, Magazines and More, Undercover Books and Whim Museum on St. Croix; Dockside Bookshop on St. Thomas; Heritage Books and Arts on Tortola; as well as in both UVI bookstores. Copies can also be ordered directly from the office of "The Caribbean Writer" office by calling 692-4152, e-mailing [email protected] or from the secure server website at www.TheCaribbeanWriter.com