ISSUE 4: In a Free State
Free to live. Free to yes. Free to no. Free to love. Free to bumboclaat be. Queer, un-queer, pansexual, transitioning, heteronormative, asexual. All of the above. It’s become a lot less “we’re queer and we’re here” and more that we’re really here, there and everywhere. We’ve dreamed of this day. We’ve yearned for it. Imagine then, what we might do when we have it? What will we DO in a free state?
In Issue 4 of PREE, we take VS Naipaul’s words and bend them to query gender roles and sexuality in the 21stcentury as we examine Caribbean realities and responses when faced with changing gender norms and expanding sexual identities. The idea of freedom is a beautiful thing, but does that only hold when it’s our own sense of self we’re thinking of? What about when you have to respect the freedom of others? That’s a lot harder, isn’t it? But that IS freedom – freedom comes with responsibility. And strange as it might seem, “responsibility” might be the most contentious word in this whole discussion. For Issue 4 we specially solicited submissions from younger writers (ages 15 to 30) arriving at their own Caribbean identity intersections during this bold contemporary moment, where both politics and families are trying to untangle themselves from the limitations of hetero-normative traditions.
The fourth issue of PREE will be rolled out gradually, as we did with PREE 3. Enjoy it!
The next submission window will be from December 15, 2019 to January 15, 2020. The theme: Ecocide
From May 24-28, 2020 we will be hosting the inaugural PREE Writing Workshops (PWW), a four-day residential program at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Offering small in-depth classes with some of the best writers in the Caribbean today PWW will be a unique opportunity for those seriously interested in improving their writing skills. Coming immediately before Calabash International Literary Festival’s 2020 edition PWW is designed to enable participants to attend the festival as well. Look out for more info on this exciting, one of a kind opportunity later this month.
Anchor image: Laurent Bayly, Car-Hole-Rainbow, Saint Martin, April 2018. digital photograph.
