A self-reflexive listening to the sea, this talk is a lyric view and an elegy to progress in the Caribbean where one is perpetually placed in relation to outside imperial powers. These powers are not only economical, but also narrative—the power of voice which chronicles the islands’ history as they are been bought and sold.

Ishion Hutchinson is the recipient of the Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize in Literature (a gift of the Drue Heinz Trust) and professor in the Department of English at Cornell University.

The event will be held in English.