Committee Reads — May edition

Kelly

What are you enjoying at the moment/wish to recommend?

I’ve been revisiting my roots through Filipino Children’s Favorite Stories, an collection of folktales from the Philippines retold/written by Liana Romulo and with art by Joanne de Leon. It’s a good mix of pre-colonial mythology and folklore plus stories that were clearly shaped by Spanish colonisation, giving an overview of the shifts that people in the Philippines and the diaspora have experienced throughout the country’s rich, intricate history.

Did you know we killed Magellan? Because we did! Lapu-lapu, a chief of Mactan – now part of Cebu province, where my dad’s parents were from – led an army of indigenous fighters to victory against Magellan’s crew of Spanish colonisers. That’s not in the book. I just wanted everyone to know.

Why is this particularly enjoyable/relevant to you now?

I’m working on a guest blog series spotlighting storytellers and contemporary uses of folklore, which is probably what inspired me to return to my own folklore and storytelling background/interests. It’s always fascinating to see what stories are presented as illustrative of core cultural values; the stories in this book emphasise collectivist social consciousness, condemn trickle-down oppression, tacitly move with the tides of European narrative structures, and portray gods as the kinds of relatives who build mortal enmity on the back of a throwaway remark from 40+ years ago (it is our specialty). 

Is there anything you’re looking forward to? (ie book releases, upcoming theatre productions, etc) And why?

I’m aiming to check out Tales at the Lighthouse, a monthly storytelling open mic hosted by Niall Moorjani at the Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh. Scotland needs more spaces for performance storytelling and oral folklore, especially spaces involving BPOC performers, so I’m excited to see what this event is like!

Nailah

What are you enjoying at the moment/wish to recommend?

Bloodfire, Baby by Eirinie Carson; Delicious Foods by James Hannaham; and “Lavironn Dede” by Caribbean Sextet (music)

Why is this particularly enjoyable/relevant to you now?

Bloodfire, Baby is a gothic tale about motherhood, ghosts and heritage. The author Eirinie is a really gifted writer and this is a well written debut. It interlinks ancestral and generational trauma stories in Jamaica with Sofia’s (the main characters story). She is also Caribbean with ties to Scotland and just the loveliest person. Her book dropped in the UK on 24 May, just in time for Read Caribbean month, so strongly recommend it. It’s another book within the Caribbean Gothic. I recently finished Delicious Foods, a dark yet at times comedic horror about navigating unimaginable grief and the systems and people who exploit that pain. I’m trying to read more backlist, and even though this was only published two years ago, a win is a win. Now I’ve moved onto The Devil In Silver by Victor LaValle, it is darkly strange as I’ve come to expect from him. Really into Caribbean Sextet which is a fun afro groove track from the 1980s. They are a Haïtian jazz combo and it’s a bop! Just time for Haitian Heritage Month, too!

Is there anything you’re looking forward to? (ie book releases, upcoming theatre productions, etc) And why?

I’m looking forward to Honey by Imani Thompson, released on 7 May. It’s a horror comedy, good-for-her style horror and I can’t wait. I think it might be in the same vein of The Trees by Percival Everett, which was so so so good. One of my most anticipated releases is I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel, the follow up after her folk horror masterpiece, Listen to Your Sister. It’s describe as a ‘robbery-gone-wrong novel, with a supernatural twist’ so I’m pumped for that. Another one I’m very keen to read is Smallie, by Eden McKenzie-Goddard, a sweeping historical fiction novel that explores Windrush and its impact within Caribbean families. The author has Bajan and Jamaican roots, and I love to support a debut writer.

These are just some of the works inspiring us right now, and we hope they spark something for you too. Conversation around art is always richer when it’s shared, so share this with your community, and feel free to tell us about your current favourites on social media!