One Hand Don’t Clap: Caribbean Worlds, Writing Towards the Future
The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival will take place from September 9 to 13.
One Hand Don’t Clap: Caribbean Worlds, Writing Towards the Future is a part of this year’s Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. Here, over three dozen writers, artists, and thinkers will come together to tell various stories of Caribbean history, migration, displacement, traditions, survival, and resilience throughout New York City spaces.
From September 9 to 13, these storytellers will share the interconnectedness amongst the islands, from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, the Virgin Islands, Haiti, and more. These narratives merge how the Caribbean experiences are shared memories, visions, inventions, reclamations, and empowerment. Festival headliners include Sister Nancy, Imani Perry, Marlon James, Edwidge Danticat, Lauren Francis-Sharma, Randy Winston, and Maisy Card.
On September 9 at the Center for Fiction from 7 pm to 8:10 pm, Marlon James will be in talk with Mary Karr to discuss his book The Disappearers. This novel delves into the compromises men, especially queer ones, make to survive, and the resistance that persists to uphold their place in society. In-person tickets include a copy of The Disappearers and a signed book after the discussion.
On September 10 at MoCADA Cafe from 6:30 pm to 8 pm, Laureates Of The Caribbean Side A presents musician Sister Nancy in conversation with Tanya Batson-Savage, who will discuss Sister Nancy’s worldwide contributions to groundbreaking and trendsetting music. The talk will also cover her life of artistic courage, legacy, and ownership throughout her career.
On September 11 at the Center for Fiction from 7 pm to 8:30 pm, Edwidge Danticat in conversation with novelist Monique Truong will discuss Danticat’s novel, Dèy. The book tells the story of Magnolia, a Haitian-American real estate agent who faces a traumatic experience in a Miami shopping mall. This leads her to rethink her relationships with everyone, even those close to her.
September 12 will be jam-packed with book and screening launches and conversations at the Center for Fiction. The day begins at 1 pm with Making Stories: Virgin Islands Noir Anthology Launch: Johnny Temple, Traci O’Dea, and Hadiya Sewer in conversation with Sayu Bhojwani on the launch of Akashic Books’ acclaimed Noir Series on decolonialism. At 2:15 pm, authors Julia Alvarez and Krystal Quiles in conversation with Jaquira Diaz will discuss their novel, In the Time of the Butterflies.
At 4 pm, Beach Inna Bondage: The Fight for Jamaica’s Coastline, in conversation with Tao Leigh Goffe, Devon Taylor, and Dantae Elliott, will have a screening launch of Beach Inna Bondage. The film follows Jamaican immigrants who come to Brooklyn only to face rapid gentrification in neighborhoods they helped build and thrive in. At 7 pm at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, Bound Together: Writing the Black Atlantic Forward is a conversation that will bring together writers Imani Perry, Maisy Card, and Lauren Francis-Sharma to discuss the history and events between African-Americans and Caribbeans.
On the final day, September 13, the Center for Fiction will also host a Sunday lunch provided by Chef Andre Fowles, Marie Mitchell, Brigid Washington, and Stephanie Ramlogan. The final conversations include That You Are Here Is No Small Thing with Traci Todd, Vashti Harrison, and Dr. Breanna McDaniel, Barrel Children with Lauren Francis-Sharma, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Dantae Elliott, and Carol Mitchell, and Who Does What? with Randy Winston, Jovanna Brinck, Johnny Temple, and Mariah Stovall.
One Hand Don’t Clap will conclude with Laureates Of The Caribbean Side B presenting the BCLF 2026 Short Story contest winners, as well as an open mic with poets Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, Yesha Townsend, Jive Poetic, Atibon Nazaire, and Cooper Libre. Find tickets for different events here.
