Through their powerful stories, poems and essays, 18 established and emerging writers from eight Caribbean territories are bringing the climate crisis into sharp focus through the voices of those most affected yet least heard — the people and communities of the Caribbean.
Published by the TT-based imprint Peekash Press, and co-edited by Diana McCaulay and Shivanee Ramlochan, the Writing For Our Lives anthology is part of the ongoing Today Today, Congotay! arts for climate justice project implemented by The Cropper Foundation with funding support from Open Society Foundations.
Writing For Our Lives
Writing for Our Lives was conceived as an anthology of stories illuminating the urgency of the climate crisis for people and communities of Caribbean states marked by their varied yet substantial vulnerabilities. These stories will consider the implications for the health, livelihoods, culture, heritage, and well-being of the many who go unseen, unheard and, ultimately, unaccounted for in the decision-making of those with power, purveyors of our collective resources.
Anthology contributors, in alphabetical order:
Amanda T. McIntyre
Anika M. Christopher
Brendon Alekseii
Charlie Godet Thomas
Christina Katrina Smith
Dreylan Johnson
Elton Johnson
Judy Raymond
Kevin Jared Hosein
Nadine Tomlinson
Portia Subran
Randy Ablack
Rhys Knowles
Scott Ting-A-Kee
Sharma Taylor
Simone Leid
Sonia Farmer
Tadzio Bervoets
Today Today, Congotay!
“Who cyah hear go feel” is a loose translation of a colloquial Caribbean exhortation that seems most common in Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago, “One day, One day, Congotay!”
To register the real, present, existential threat of the climate fallout, The Cropper Foundation has adapted it to title the series of climate justice, multi-media, arts-based interventions being rolled out over the period 2023-2026, with funding from Open Society Foundations.
Writing For Our Lives (WFOL) is the second initiative under the Today Today, Congotay! banner. It follows the pilot of a climate justice community micro-theatre undertaking in 2023, executed in collaboration with the Brazil and Williamsville Secondary Schools in T&T.
WFOL as part of the Cropper legacy
Writing For Our Lives builds on the legacy of founders John and Angela Cropper’s vision for a seminal environment for the strengthening and exploration of Caribbean identity through literature. Beginning in 2000, the same year the Foundation was registered, the Cropper Writing Residency was one of the first ventures of the newly formed non-profit.
Through its fifteen (ten adult and five teenaged) residential three-week workshops to date, led by award-winning writers Funso Aiyejina and Merle Hodge, the programme has helped shape over 180 Caribbean writers from almost every country in the anglophone Caribbean.
Many of these writers have gone on to publish with some earning major regional and global literary distinctions and accolades – among them, Jamaican Kei Miller, Haitian-American Myriam J.A. Chancy and TT authors Ayanna Lloyd-Banwo, Danielle Boodoo-Fortune and Barbara Jenkins.
International release of Today Today, Congotay! A Preview of Writing For Our Lives
November 2024 saw the international release of the initial e-book published by Peekash Press, titled Today Today, Congotay! A Preview of Writing For Our Lives at the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event was hosted at the CARICOM Pavillion on November 18.
Writing For Our Lives Editors & Illustrator
We remain hugely indebted to several people who were instrumental in shaping the form and contents of this anthology.
Co-Editors: Diana McCaulay and Shivanee Ramlochan.
Original Editor: Funso Aiyejina.
The cover image is original artwork by artist Jaidn Bain commissioned for the Writing For Our Lives project.
Published for The Cropper Foundation by Peekash Press
ISBN 978-976-97538-0-8
Jaidn Bain
Diana McCaulay
Shivanee Ramlochan
Funso Aiyejina
What is Climate Justice?
Climate justice intertwines human rights and development, prioritising a people-centered approach. It aims to protect the most vulnerable and ensure fairness in sharing both the burdens and benefits of climate change. Grounded in science, it recognises the necessity of equitable management of global resources. Climate justice underscores the unequal distribution and impacts of climate change, stemming from historical and systemic factors. It advocates for inclusive and nuanced strategies in global climate action, addressing underlying inequities. By acknowledging disparities and promoting fairness, climate justice strives for a world where all individuals can thrive amidst environmental challenges.
Climate Justice knowledge sessions recordings
