Iron Balloons: Hit Fiction from Jamaica's Calabash Writer's Workshop

Reggae's rebel spirit blazes in this hot selection of short fiction from Jamaica's Calabash Writer's Workshop. Set in the Caribbean and the U.S.A., the stories sweep across a range of moods and genres to create a narrative LP of fascinating voices. From the old lady who gives a "how to" speech on beating children, to the schizophrenic singer who thinks he's Bob Marley, to the hotel maid who gets a sexual offer that she can't refuse, the diverse mix of characters are linked by the fundamental principle that all cliched conventions must be shouted off the page. In the proudly odd tradition of Jamaican music, the selections seek to entertain while asking daring questions that provoke new ideas into being.

Contributors include: Colin Channer, Elizabeth Nunez, Marlon James, Kwame Dawes, Kaylie Jones, Geoffrey Philp, Rudolph Wallace, Konrad Kirlew, Alwin Bully, A-dZiko Simba, and Sharon Leach.

ISBN-13: 9781933354057

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Akashic Books

Publication Date: 06-01-2006

Pages: 214

Product Dimensions: 8.18h x 5.30w x 0.79d

COLIN CHANNER's major works of fiction include the novel Waiting in Vain and the story collection Passing Through, which Junot Diaz described as "a splendid collection by one of the Caribbean Diaspora's finest writers." He is an assistant professor of English and the coordinator of the B.A. creative writing program at Medgar Evers College.