About the Book
LiTTscapes is every reader's entry into fiction. LiTTscapes - Landscapes of Fiction is the keepsake official commemorative publication marking the Jubilee of Independence of Trinidad & Tobago. It celebrates the islands' contribution to world literary heritage - the umbilical link between fiction-realism-nationhood in Commonwealth Caribbean world literature. In full colour easy reading coffee table-style, it explores most fiction written from as early as Sir Walter Raleigh, the dawn of English literary sensibility to the 50th year of Independence. It sets the fictional imagination of Nobel Laureates Derek Walcott and Sir Vidia Naipaul along with about 100 other fiction writers in contexts of real-life experiences through more than 500 colour photographs. Readers experience intimate details of island life, walking in the footsteps of the islands' famed writers and larger-than-life literary characters, travelling through the landscapes of festivals, sports, architecture, education, petroleum, sugar, cocoa and other industry, institutions and its cultures, festivals, traditions and lifestyles. It details exciting literary moments, literary heritage walking tours and cross-country excursions with incisive, witty, literary analyses, critique and observations. It is an essential companion for any explorer, reader, travel and heritage enthusiast, tourist, student, policy maker or academic. The author Dr Kris Rampersad, an award-winning international journalist literary promoter (krisrampersad.com) heritage educator and literary scholar, meshes rigorous attention to detail with an easy-to-read style that makes the gallery of fiction approachable and accessible to average reader. This is an essential companion for literary enthusiasts/students, an exciting compendium for travelers, explorers familiar, or not too familiar, with the islands. What Critics Say - "LiTTscapes is a work of art; a documentary, a travelogue, a critical work with visual & literary power. It takes us on a tour of the country, giving some exposure to almost every aspect of life. No tourist guide can give a better, more comprehensive introduction to Trinidad. It is very easy to read. It shows the value that literature has in promoting and presenting the nation.No one book can be everything; no one book can set out to achieve everything that a literature and a visual text can do for its people & its nation; but whatever you say one book can't do, this one almost does it. Features literary houses & the Lion House of Nobel Laureate Sir VS Naipaul, the capital city, other towns, streets, urban communities, villages, historic buildings & places, vegetation, animals, institutions, culture and landscape. There is considerable visual beauty, what Derek Walcott calls "visual surprise" in his Nobel Lecture; an impressive coverage of social history, geography, & politics (Prof Al Creighton, Head Guyana Prize for Literature)- Little, if any, of local landscape and culture is omitted .... Rampersad bridges the gap between fiction and reality, painstakingly mapping the spaces ... successfully charters a path towards deeper understanding of not only the literary works that define us, but also the authors and their multifaceted inspiration (Zahra Gordon, Trinidad Guardian)An opportunity to commit to our own literary tours, to celebrate our literatures in our schools, in our communities as a necessary prerequisite to our development, to heal our self-schism (Pearl Eintou Springer, National Poet Laureate). So well crafted, can be an inspiration to others - First Lady, Dr Jean Ramjohn Richards. "That inclusive aspect of Trinidadian culture is evident in this book: like a good fete, it just draws you in, so you don't want to leave..." Stephen Spark, Soca News, UK.- Rum shops, cathedrals, hummingbirds, cricket, weddings, carnival, Divali, steelpan, Christmas, seasons - some startling topics in this extraordinary survey - Martin Mulligan Commonwealth Journal/Financial Times UK.
