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Island Stories from Dominica
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Runaway slaves of Dominica: Book Review |
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Published Sunday, December 16, 2007
ROSEAU , Dominica,
Contributed
Set in the period 1796 to 1803, during the French Revolution and the slave revolts on the island of Santo Domingo, Dominican author Alick Lazare tells the story of one young slave, Pharcel. Working within such a premise and coming up with a credible and exciting story, is a task that has been taken on by many a Caribbean writer. However, Lazare shows enough dexterity to deliver the goods, with this, a near classic first-novel.
The novel begins on a quizzical note—"The boy sat on the bare ground, frozen in wonder, his mouth opened wide, eyes staring intently." Who is this boy? What is he staring at so intently? Why is he frozen in wonder? The latter questions are answered in the immediate sentences which follow, and though we're given a detailed description of said boy, it isn't until later that we are provided with his name.
"He was tall for his age at seventeen. His chocolate-colored skin glowed with vitality, and the short golden hairs on his arms and legs gave his body a sultry look. He had the face of a young warrior; short, matted hair, deep brown with streaks of gold, curling tightly over a wide, low brow; a somewhat high nose flaring suddenly over thick, firm lips. Deep below his brow, his eyes sparkled, a liquid brown that seemed to dance continuously in its pure white field. His body was robust, not yet knotted with muscles, but showing well-defined proportions."
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Runaway slaves of Dominica: The untold story |
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Published Sunday, December 09, 2007
ROSEAU, Dominica
Contributed
 Just over a year ago, in July 2006, Dominican Author, Alick Lazare, published his first novel – Pharcel: Runaway Slave.
Pharcel looks at the other side of history, from the African perspective, and tells of the motives and aspirations of the runaway slaves in Dominica about the turn of the nineteenth century, and their constant battle against the oppression and greed of white colonial society.
The story is set in the period 1796 to 1803, during the time of the French Revolution and the Slave Revolt in San Domingo, and is based on actual historical happenings in Dominica, taken from published historical texts and official records. The author looks behind the pages of official history to uncover the truth about the lives of the much maligned runaways and comes up with a story that is credible and that does justice to the noble struggles of a few brave African men and women fighting for their fundamental right of personal freedom and human dignity.
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Published Sunday, August 05, 2007
2007, ROSEAU, Dominica
By Desmond Brown
 Ambassador Charles Maynard, right, signs copies of his book during the launch in Roseau I met Charles Maynard for the first time during my recent visit to the North African country of Morocco. (Keep checking the Web site for a story on that trip). Mr. Maynard is Dominica's Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
As we embarked on a journey to tour what will turn out to be the largest port in that part of the world (Tangier Mediterranean Port or Tangier Med), the ambassador and I got into a conversation. It was during that conversation that I learnt that he had published his first book just about a month or so earlier. As you can well imagine, I got very excited. Here is someone who has done, not only what I'm trying to encourage Caribbean people to do with CaribbeanRunnings.com, which is writing, but he has also published a book.
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