Festival 5 Theme

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had 5 months to live? What if that time was whittled to 5 weeks or even 5 days? What would you do with those remaining moments?

How would you spend your last 5 dollars in the world, knowing very well that it was your last? Thinking back, is it possible to recall the most impressionable 5 moments of your life?

The number 5 is undoubtedly an important increment. From universally representing the length of the daily grind between the (often) dreaded modern work week of Monday to Friday - those 5 days which have come to define the life cycles, circadian, arcadian and social rhythms of modern human civilisation; to the perfectly appointed number of digits on each hand, 5 is a relatable and easily identifiable multiple. 

In the Caribbean, 5 is nature in action. Countless childhood memories have been crystallised from the tart and sweet nectar of ripe 5-finger fruit - memories headlined by mothers who have themselves wiped clean the sticky chins and fingers of their children - those lifted hands almost an act of reverential offering. Which Caribbean person can deny that carambola is the star(fruit) of the wet season? The regalia of a formed hibiscus flower has five sepals, the fragrant frangipani, 5 petals. Indeed, the number 5, as a pattern and as a unit is stamped in the conscious and unconscious memory, flora, fauna and sensory landscape of all Caribbean people.

Permit us to add one more object to the magical numeric sequence of our complex and variegated Caribbean lives. This year, the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival observed 5 years of celebrating Caribbean writers in the North American diaspora and across the yes - you got it, 5 boroughs of New York. It’s been 5 wonderful years of falling in love anew with Caribbean stories. 

Our Short Fiction Story Contest welcomed your stories with as much relish and anticipation as the day we first started this. We wanted to know of the depth and breadth, width and span of your memories and your dreams. All of your ideas were welcome. We encouraged you to share with us your joys and your triumphs. There was room at our table and in our hearts for it all.