News stories by SWAN - Southern World Arts News

PARIS, Mar 28 (IPS) - Reggae fans may be initially drawn just by the iconic image of Bob Marley on the Music + Life poster, but once inside this exhibition, they will find themselves immersed in a world of extraordinary photographs.

KINGSTON, Feb 24 (IPS) - Jamaican writer Velma Pollard provided a special kind of sunlight in the Caribbean literary space. Known across the region for her warm personality and welcoming nature, she also defied simple classification as she shone beyond genre. The work she has left behind encompasses short stories, poetry, academic writing, and novellas. She was also a keen naturalist photographer.

PARIS, Aug 21 (IPS) - For the centenary of James Baldwin's birth, an international array of literature fans are coming together in Paris at a festival that will honour the life and work of the iconic American author and civil rights activist.

PARIS, Jul 31 (IPS) - As cheers from beach-volleyball fans fill the air at the Eiffel Tower Stadium on a steamy, sunny day, pedestrians just down the road are enjoying another kind of show: an outdoor exhibition of huge photographs gleaming on the metal railings of UNESCO headquarters.

SAN JUAN / PARIS, Jun 19 (IPS) - On meeting Amanda Hernández, one is immediately struck by her infectious energy and her generous sharing of information about Puerto Rican writers and books. At a recent literary festival in the Caribbean - the BVI Lit Fest in the British Virgin Islands - she urged participants for instance to check out the works of several emerging authors from her home territory.

NORMANDY, France, May 27 (IPS) - On a clear, chilly evening, the words of African American poet Maya Angelou filled the air in the centre of Rouen, as a vivid light show played across the façade of the French town’s imposing cathedral, and as a bright full moon rose in the sky.

PARIS, Apr 12 (IPS) - Maryse Condé, the acclaimed Guadeloupean author who died in France last week at the age of 90, will be bid an official farewell April 12, amidst an outpouring of tributes from across the world, and particularly from the Caribbean.

BRUSSELS, Feb 15 (IPS) - Judging from the audience reactions at a screening of Bob Marley: One Love in Brussels, the music may touch international viewers, but the memories and some of the “insider” comments belong to Jamaicans and those closely connected with the country.

PARIS, May 18 (IPS) - Some movie scenes keep replaying in one’s mind long after one has left the cinema, and this is certainly true of Moon Over Aburi, a short film shot in Ghana that has been gaining accolades since its release earlier this year.

PARIS, Mar 28 (IPS) - It’s a new direction for UNESCO, getting involved in movies, so to speak. The United Nations' cultural agency and Netflix - the global streaming and production company - have partnered to “support” and “promote” Africa’s new generation of filmmakers, and the results will be revealed to the world from March 29, when six short films by young directors will be available in 190 countries via the video-on-demand platform.