SHARMAINE LOVEGROVE
The world is in a state of flux. As I write this, the Motherland that colonised many Caribbean islands and made them a focus of slavery is being held accountable for its disgraceful treatment of the Windrush Generation: people from all over the West Indies who came to Britain to help rebuild it after the war in exchange and hope for different life.
That the stories of the Caribbean have been ignored for so long is one of the greatest tragedies of modern literature. Our islands are rich with cultural heritage, a cacophony of vernaculars, and offer a lens on the world from totally unique vistas.
We cannot help but go forwards in life, yet it is vital to reflect on what came before. All four of my grandparents were born in Jamaica and it’s important for me to give back and be part of something meaningful, expressive and tangible to those who are writing the Caribbean from all perspectives.
PREE brings all those elements together and we hope this space will become a home for publishers and agents to take a dip and spend time discovering voices that are new to them or hearing from someone familiar in a different space.
I have spent my life reading Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott, Jamaica Kincaid, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jean Rhys and Audre Lorde, learning about the world from their perspective and understanding my roots and culture through their words. More recently it’s been a joy to celebrate the works of award-winning writers Marlon James, Monique Roffey, Kei Miller and Nicole Dennis-Benn and discover the likes of Vladimir Lucien, Diana McCaulay and Edwidge Danticat. As a publisher in London, England I am proud to publish Patrick Chamoiseau in English as his strong, complex characters from Martinique have stayed with me for a long time. Our aim is to bring writers like these into your life and to show off the Caribbean and its literary might.
PREE is a celebration of what brings the Caribbean together through words and I hope you enjoy discovering another area of our cultural talent.
Sharmaine Lovegrove
Publisher, PREE
