H. Nigel Thomas, Caribbean writer to read from his work at Bates College

H. Nigel Thomas, a poet and novelist known for his examinations of Caribbean culture, visits Bates College to read from his work at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, in Skelton Lounge, Chase Hall, 56 Campus Avenue.

Thomas, who was born and raised on the island of St. Vincent, is known for his use of Caribbean folklore in his work and his exploration of that region’s complex social and cultural dynamics. At Bates he will read from his newest novel, Behind the Face of Winter (Tasar, 2001) and from his poetry collection Moving Through Darkness (Afo Enterprises, 1999).

Thomas is a professor of literature at Université Laval, Québec. His novel Spirits in the Dark (House of Anansi, 1998) was a finalist for the QSPELL/Hugh MacLennan Fiction Award. He also wrote From Folklore to Fiction: A Study of Folk Heroes and Rituals in the Black American Novel (Greenwood, 1988).

Thomas’ visit to Bates is sponsored by Amandla! and the departments of English, and theater and rhetoric.