Makeda Silvera

Family loyalty, betrayal and the redemptive power of love are at the heart of this poignant and unforgettable novel set in Canada and Jamaica. When Maria Galloway dies, she leaves everything to her spoiled, wayward grandson, Vittorio. Her only granddaughter, Molly, whom she raised from infancy, is left to confront the unyielding bitterness Maria harboured against her. As Molly begins to trace the complex interrelationships in her loving but divided family, she recalls her idyllic childhood, spent in her grandmother s sky-blue house in Jamaica. There, surrounded by a jungle of coconut, mango and avocado trees and enveloped in the smells of mouth-watering sweet cakes and spicy Jamaican foods, she received her grandmother s pure and simple generosity, and the return of unconditional love. But as Molly enters adolescence, she grows increasingly aware of her grandmother s vulnerabilities and disappointments, her human frailties. When Maria decides that things might get better if she leaves Jamaica and joins her adult children in Canada, she takes Molly with her. But it isn t long before she, a woman who has always lived on her own terms and has never been afraid to speak her mind, clashes with her children. Even Molly falls into disfavour when Maria discovers that she is romantically involved with a woman. From generational saga to tender love story, "The Heart Does Not Bend" is a vivid and heartfelt portrayal of an indomitable matriarch and the women who must free themselves from her."

A Novel

The Heart Does Not Bend

Uncompromising in its honesty, at times humorous, angry, confrontational, and erotic, Piece of My Heart celebrates the lives of women both out and coming out.

A Lesbian of Colour Anthology

Piece of My Heart

Nila Gupta

This book first appeared in the 1983 Issue 16 of Fireweed, a Canadian feminist quarterly. In these pages women of colour speak about their lives for the first time in Canadian Feminist literature. They touch on racism, sexism, classism, imperialism and other 'isms. Contributors include Himani Bannerji, Claire Harris, Nila Gupta, Sylvia Hamilton, Prabha Khosla, Cecilia Green, Claire Preito and many others. This powerful collection includes essays, short stories, poems, photographs, illustrations and graphics by Black women, Asian women and Native women. Sisters from the Philippines and Central America also speak out. The issues the address are relevant to women of colour the world over.

Women of Colour Speak Out

The Issue is 'ism

Various

Jamaica Kincaid

Eric Walrond

Sam Selvon

Jean Rhys

Kamau Brathwaite

Austin Clarke

Lorna Goodison

Paule Marshall

James Berry

Wayne Brown

Lawrence Scott

Andrew Salkey

Erna Brodber

Earl Lovelace

Neil Bissoondath

Olive Senior

Roger Mais

Wilson Harris

Hazel D. Campbell

Willi Chen

Pauline Melville

Louise Bennett

Wilfred Wood

Kenneth Vidia Parmasad

Seepersad Naipaul

Claude MacKay

Frank Collymore

C... L. R. James

Garth St Omer

Vidiadhar Surajprashad Naipaul

N... D. Williams

Clyde Hosein

Alecia MacKenzie

Spanning the history of Caribbean writing, this meticulously compiled collection of 40 short stories includes pre-Columbian legends and myths from India and Africa, and many stories that are an evocative reminder of the turbulent history of the region. Authors featured include Andrew Salkey, Jean Rhys, V.S. Naipaul, Jamaica Kincaid, and Lawrence Scott, among others. A major anthology reflecting the diversity and richness of Caribbean writing.

The Penguin Book of Caribbean Short Stories

Women writers in this collection include interviews with; Himani Bannerji, Dionne Brand, Maria Campbell, Afua Cooper, Beatrice Culleton, Ramabai Espinet, Lenore Keeshig-Tobias, Isabelle Knockwood, Joy Kogawa, Sky Lee, ahdri zhina mandiela, Makeda Silvera, Carol Talbot and essays by; Lillian Allen, Frederick Case, Lien Chao, Saloni Mathur, Arun Prabha Mukherjee, Uma Parameswaran, Carmen Rodriguez, Rita Wong.

Women of Colour in Contemporary Canadian Literature

The Other Woman

Makeda Silvera

About

Books

Join the club