The University of the Virgin Islands has announced the appointment of Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa as the new editor of The Caribbean Writer, an award-winning anthology published annually under the Research and Public Service component of the university. Her appointment will begin in January 2010. Dr. Henry Smith, vice provost of the Research and Public Service component, said that “UVI is very pleased to welcome Dr. Adisa and has every confidence that her being on the staff will add immensely to the growth and reach of The Caribbean Writer.”
Jamaican born, Adisa is a poet and prose writer, who also brings extensive editorial experience to the anthology. She has published 14 books, and her writings have appeared in over 200 journals and anthologies. She is also a much sought-after speaker and has traveled throughout the United States, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.
She has been recognized for her work in the form of many awards and honors, among them the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for her poetry collection, Tamarind and Mango Women, and the Master Folk Artist Award for Storytelling from the California Arts Council. She has also received awards for both poetry and fiction from The Caribbean Writer and has served as an advisory board member of The Caribbean Writer since 1998. Her interview with renowned poet Kamau Brathwaite appears in Volume 23 (2009).
Dr. Adisa, who has a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, most recently was a professor at California College of the Arts. She previously taught both graduate and undergraduate courses at several universities including Stanford University, the University of California at Berkley and San Francisco State University. She will also serve as a Humanities and Social Sciences faculty member at UVI, teaching two courses in the spring semester.
Her editorship will begin with the 24th edition of The Caribbean Writer, to which submissions are currently being accepted. As usual, the Caribbean should be central to the work, or the work should reflect a Caribbean heritage, experience or perspective. Besides poetry, fiction, essays and one-act plays, special sections are planned on Trevor Rhone and Wayne Brown. The deadline for submissions has been extended to December 31, 2009.
Submissions should be mailed to The Caribbean Writer, University of the Virgin Islands, RR 1, Box 10,000, Kingshill, St. Croix, VI 00850-9781 or submitted electronically to submit@thecaribbeanwriter.org. Electronic submissions should be sent as attached Microsoft Word or RTF documents. Please do not include submissions in body of e-mail.
For more information, visit www.TheCaribbeanWriter.org or call 692-4152.
