History of the International Conference on Caribbean Literature
The International Conference on Caribbean Literature (ICCL) was founded in July 1997 by Dr. Melvin Rahming, former Hugh M. Gloster Chair and current Professor of English at Morehouse College, and Dr. Jorge Roman-Lagunas, former Director of the Center for International Studies at Purdue University Calumet. Its chief purpose is the promotion of a global understanding of Caribbean cultures. ICCL is always sponsored by Morehouse College and usually takes place at an institution of higher learning in the Caribbean. The conference averages approximately 125 participants and attracts scholars from across the world.
To date, ICCL has convened in Nassau, The Bahamas (1998); Paget, Bermuda (1999); Ponce, Puerto Rico (2000); Trois-Illet, Martinique (2001); Freeport, Bahamas (2003); St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (2004); Cartagena, Colombia (2005); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2006); Castries, St. Lucia (2007); Buea, Cameroon (2008); Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (2010); Havana, Cuba (2011); Panama City, Panama (2013); Willemstad, Curaçao (2014); Salvador, Brazil (2015); St. Martin (2016); Nassau, The Bahamas (2017); and San José, Costa Rica (2018).
To date, ICCL has convened in Nassau, The Bahamas (1998); Paget, Bermuda (1999); Ponce, Puerto Rico (2000); Trois-Illet, Martinique (2001); Freeport, Bahamas (2003); St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (2004); Cartagena, Colombia (2005); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2006); Castries, St. Lucia (2007); Buea, Cameroon (2008); Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (2010); Havana, Cuba (2011); Panama City, Panama (2013); Willemstad, Curaçao (2014); Salvador, Brazil (2015); St. Martin (2016); Nassau, The Bahamas (2017); and San José, Costa Rica (2018).
Nature of the International Conference on Caribbean Literature
ICCL is unique. It is the only Caribbean literary forum that aims to unite, on an annual basis and in a Caribbean setting, writers and scholars for concurrent presentations in the three most prominent languages of the region: English, French, and Spanish. Likewise, ICCL is the only conference on Caribbean literature that involves the host country in the planning of each event. It also seeks to expose scholars to the cultural preeminence of the Caribbean through supplemental cultural events and optional post-conference tours.
Although each conference spotlights at least one internationally acclaimed writer or scholar from the host country, ICCL endeavors too to expose lesser-known writers of the Caribbean in order to provide them an international platform. Past keynote speakers include Rex Nettleford, Derek Walcott, Kenneth Ramchand, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, Jan Carew, Maryse Condé, Carol Marsh-Lockett, Brenda Flanagan, Edgardo Rodriguez-Julia, Sylvia Winter, Ian Strachan, Raphaël Confiant, Earl Lovelace, Tita Lucille Berry-Haseth, and Damaris Serrano.
Finally—and arguably most importantly—ICCL provides a forum for each country to showcase its visual and performative arts cultures before an international audience of acclaimed scholars and writers.
Although each conference spotlights at least one internationally acclaimed writer or scholar from the host country, ICCL endeavors too to expose lesser-known writers of the Caribbean in order to provide them an international platform. Past keynote speakers include Rex Nettleford, Derek Walcott, Kenneth Ramchand, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, Jan Carew, Maryse Condé, Carol Marsh-Lockett, Brenda Flanagan, Edgardo Rodriguez-Julia, Sylvia Winter, Ian Strachan, Raphaël Confiant, Earl Lovelace, Tita Lucille Berry-Haseth, and Damaris Serrano.
Finally—and arguably most importantly—ICCL provides a forum for each country to showcase its visual and performative arts cultures before an international audience of acclaimed scholars and writers.
Goals of the International Conference on Caribbean Literature
ICCL has the following goals:
1. To promote a global understanding of Caribbean cultures;
2. To serve as the preeminent forum for the global discussion of Caribbean literature by writers and scholars from academic institutions in the Caribbean, Europe, North, Central, and South Americas, Asia, and Africa;
3. To contribute meaningfully to the existing body of criticism that interrogates Caribbean literature;
4. To involve Caribbean states in the discussion and promotion of their own and the region’s literatures and cultures;
5. To involve Caribbean institutions of higher learning as hosts and planners for each conference;
6. To establish and develop relationships between American and Caribbean postsecondary institutions.
1. To promote a global understanding of Caribbean cultures;
2. To serve as the preeminent forum for the global discussion of Caribbean literature by writers and scholars from academic institutions in the Caribbean, Europe, North, Central, and South Americas, Asia, and Africa;
3. To contribute meaningfully to the existing body of criticism that interrogates Caribbean literature;
4. To involve Caribbean states in the discussion and promotion of their own and the region’s literatures and cultures;
5. To involve Caribbean institutions of higher learning as hosts and planners for each conference;
6. To establish and develop relationships between American and Caribbean postsecondary institutions.