I get that it's Dimanche Gras and your mind is probably more on Carnival celebrations than your book club, so this week the Sunday Arts Section (SAS) Book Club features some of the best books about Carnival for you to consider after the festivities end and you still can't get Carnival out of your mind.
Many people think of Carnival as nothing more than a good-time season, but as these books demonstrate, Carnival, calypso and pan are an important way to discover or explore Trinidad and Tobago's history.
�2 If Yuh Iron Good You is King: Pan Pioneers of T&T, by Kim Johnson.
Journalist and scholar Dr Kim Johnson proves that historical writing can be light and engaging, not stuffy and heavy in this extensive, entertaining chronicle of pan. Even readers who are not interested in pan will be fascinated with how Johnson presents history.
�2 The Illustrated Story of Pan, by Kim Johnson.
We take hearing pan for granted and maybe even reading about pan for granted, so it is an extraordinary treat to see the history of pan through a collection of pictures that reflect important research.
�2 The Political Calypso: True Opposition in T&To, 1962-1987, by Louis Regis.
Regis explores the social history, cultural attitudes, and political commentary associated with calypso music in the Caribbean from 1962-1987.
�2 Calypso and Society in Pre-Independence Trinidad, by Prof Gordon Rohlehr.
Professor Emeritus at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Rohlehr traces the evolution of calypso music as a reflection of Trinidad society. The foremost expert on calypso in T&T, Rohlehr makes calypso come alive by delving into newspaper articles that reflect calypso's development through time. His books include his extensive interviews with many calypsonians who are no longer living.
�2 Carnival, Canboulay and Calypso: Traditions in the Making, by John Cowley.
While many books separate Carnival into various components musically or socially speaking, Cowley demonstrates how rituals and music combine to form the essence of Carnival.
�2 Rituals of Power & Rebellion: The Carnival Tradition in T&T, 1763-1962, by Hollis Liverpool.
Calypsonian Chalkdust, who has a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan, presents a fascinating study of Carnival as a unifying force in history. Calypso represented power and a form of rebellion for black people living under slavery and colonialism.
�2 The Dragon Can't Dance, by Earl Lovelace.
There has never been a better novel about Trinidad Carnival than this, a modern Caribbean classic. Lovelace presents a cast of unforgettable characters around Aldrick, a man who lives for mas. This is the story of the masks we all wear during Carnival and outside of Carnival.
Carnival really is worth exploring off the stage, as these books demonstrate. Join the SAS Book Club on Facebook and share your thoughts on books.Don't forget to get your copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This is the SAS Book Club's next selection. In March the SAS Book Club features a nonfiction book, The Gangster Squad, by Paul Liberman.