National Black Arts Alliance

Merle Collins VIP Dinner for Twelve  Guest. November 19^th 2011

NBAA is delighted to welcome Merle as a friend, colleague and mentor.The UK poetry scene lost its lustre when Grenadian born poet and fiction                      writer, Collins left the UK for USA where she is Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of Maryland. Her critical works include “Themes and Trends in Caribbean Writing Today” in From My Guy to Sci-Fi: Genre and Women’s Writing in the Postmodern World, and “To be Free is Very Sweet” in Slavery and Abolition.

Merle’s far too short visit to the UK is to promote her new short story collection The Ladies are Upstairs. ISBN: 9781845231798

The first was led by Professor Brian Ward on the African American all round entertainer Florence Mills. His presentation was as warm as it was informative. Welcome back any time.

The second considered the Pan African Congress under the guidance of Washington Alcott, who managed to bring the past’s relevance to the present  

Both sessions were brilliant learning opportunities informal and liberating.