About the author
Charleston Thomas is a linguist, musician and writer from Trinidad and Tobago who explores combining fiction, poetry, the essay and music into one form. His academic essays have been published in Routledge Companion to
Anglophone Caribbean Literature and Journal of West Indian Literature, among others, and he has done several performance- lectures as an invited performing artist at universities in the US, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago. In content, his recent work focuses on: the complex oral and African derived traditions of the Caribbean and their place in shaping contemporary education in the region; verbal and body gestures as part of Caribbean Creole languages; and on the practice, performance and value of reflective/med-
itative/sacred music-making in the contemporary Caribbean arts fraternity. These areas of interest are placed in his reflective essays and poetry, in performance-lectures and in music performance, in artistic productions, and performance-exhibitions.
About the book
Years after earning his Ph.D., our unnamed narrator grows disillusioned with his university training and faces a pivotal decision: whether to publish his thesis.
Tormented by loss and old passions, he embarks on a two-day journey across the island on which he studied, determined to complete the final reading of his manuscript. However, as he confronts memories and desires, he becomes entangled in a deeper conflict. The repercussions of publishing on Caribbean/Black men and intimate desires weigh heavily on him. Memories of his childhood on another island resurface, and a spiritual calling to music and poetry beckons.
In the midst of these challenges, he realizes that his decisions carry greater significance than he initially thought. The narrator’s quest for fulfillment, set against the backdrop of academic turmoil, leads him back to music, storytelling, and poetry, both in nature and memory. His search becomes a biography of the countless unnamed individuals who pass through the walls of universities and similar institutions.
Reviews
I can't thank you enough for your magisterial presentation. I know that the class and I learned a great deal and were riveted by your stirring remarks. Do you know the full scope of what you provided us? You're absolutely right that interdependence is the decisive term here, and it has likewise lingered in my mind. Thanks for sending the attachments along--they will definitely be helpful when we pick up with some of the themes you covered in next weeks class. If you have any music you can also send along, I think some students would be eager to hear that, too (including me!). Thank you brother again for such a generous and stimulating session! One love brother
Both personally and on behalf of the President and Board of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, I would like to thank you for your great contribution to our 2018 Biennial Meeting. It appears to be the consensus that it was a very useful, stimulating and enjoyable event and I thank you for your part in making this so. I look forward to keeping in good touch. Thank you again for your support of the CJEI. Best personal regards
Many thanks for all this! So wonderful to read and hear from you. First of all, let me say that I'm relieved you see something meaningful in the project. It is important but rare to have in common an understanding of such work, which really leads away from mainstream linguistics and imperial research. So thank you very much! Your ideas and suggestions make so much sense. I did not have a clue of how to replace established methodologies like participant observation with something less intrusive and less authoritarian. But this is wonderful, also as it will mean something to the community as well. Nothing sterile and closed, but hospitable, open methodology. I will modify parts of the proposal and include your ideas so that it would fit you. Let us hope we have a chance! It is so nice that you mention NourbeSe Philips, whom I also greatly admire. Her book about the Song, or rather the presences of the dead and the spirits is so important, but also her other work. Let us bring this into the work, among other texts.
Profile of XXAALAHH
- Music and Writing as Nourishment: Sound and word are fundamental to feeding the souls of men, women, and children, elevating us to a higher state of being human, compelling us to live in and with Divine Love.
- Caribbean Educational Context: Education in the West Indies must centralize our context of orality in pedagogic strategies to fully maximize the richness of our potential for better living. In orality, heightened senses interact and collaborate, making us more beautifully human.
XXAALAHH is a phonetic and visual symbol that foregrounds the historical and spiritual contexts out of which my performance philosophy and practice emerge.
- Phonetic Inspiration: The name echoes the sound of ‘Sarah’, & from Nina Simone’s ‘Four Women’. ‘Aunt Sarah’ represents the strength and resilience of
black women, reminiscent of my mother, aunts, and female teachers from Tobago and Trinidad. - Visual Code: The double “x” symbolizes my formal education in Tobago, representing serious errors or problems, paralleling contemporary living under high capitalism and technology. The three “a’s” signify my birth date and the commitment to Art, Action, and Happiness.
- Cultural and Historical Resonance: XXAALAHH mobilizes us to perceive life differently, advocating for a life of learning and teaching through the Sacredness of Art.
Music:
- Instruments: Voice and piano
Performance-Exhibitions:
- Curating performance-exhibitions on themes such as gender, history, peace, and justice, bringing together works from both fine and performance artists.
Performance-Lectures:
- Offering lecture-recitals addressing Caribbean living, Tobago’s cultural legacy, Black Diaspora musical expression, Trinidad and Tobago’s social situation, and artistic responsibility.
Writing:
- Traditional essays, poetry, prose, and reflective writings.
- Author of “A Biography of Memory,” a novel intertwining prose, poetry, and music, to be published in early 2024 by Atmosphere Press.
Concerts:
- Intimate music performances with an emphasis on dialogue and engagementwith the audience.
1. Sacred Structure: Music as a Divine gift, not subjected to commercial pressures. Form, structure, length, rhythm, melody, harmony, and lyrics are guided by Sacred sound.
2. Venue Requirements: Performances require venues conducive to careful listening and learning, ensuring effective emotional and message communication.
3. Artistic Integrity: No collaborations with artists whose work functions as mechanisms of self-destruction.
4. Educational Responsibility: Music as an extension of teaching, reshaping tertiary-level content for the public while evoking emotions that encourage self-
reflection, meditation, action, healing, and love.
- “For him art offers both a new dimension and an exceptional mode of expression for his spiritual growth” (Pope John Paul II)
- “I play black classical music” (Nina Simone)
- “People don’t understand the kind of fight it takes to record what you want to record the way you want to record it” (Billie Holiday)
- “The trouble with records is that they’re too short” (Mahalia Jackson)
- “I say, play your own way. Don’t play what the public wants. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you’re doing, even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years.” (Thelonious Monk)
- “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” (Miles Davis)
- “Let me whisper it. Let me sigh it. Let me sing it, my dear or I will cry it” (Shirley Horn)
- “People all over the world have problems. And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die” (B.B. King)
- “I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me – like food or water.” (Ray Charles)
- “Leave Me Alone!” (Calypso Rose)
XXAALAHH embodies the spirit of the Caribbean, blending music, writing, and
education to create a profound artistic legacy that speaks to the soul and intellect.
Through performances, lectures, and writings, XXAALAHH continues to inspire,
educate, and elevate audiences worldwide.
African Studies GVF: Decoloniality and Southern Epistemologies- Charleston Thomas
Testimonial
The brief encounter back then has grown into a major research collaboration between Dr. Thomas and myself. My project “The differentiation of the Afro-Caribbean English-lexifier Creoles”, funded by the Government of Hong Kong, attempts to shed light on the linguistic and socio-historical processes through which the large family of English-lexifier Creoles spoken in Africa and the Americas has evolved in the last three centuries or so. Throughout 2018-19, Dr. Thomas designed and carried out the recording of primary data on Tobagonian and Trinidadian Creole, seeking out language consultants in his wide social network across the two islands, designing elicitation tasks and creating the appropriate settings for the collection of life stories and naturalistic conversations. He also transcribed the resulting large corpus.
At the moment, Dr. Thomas and I are beginning to analyze the field data and writing up our first joint publication. Dr. Thomas’ activities in linguistics have also ushered in his invitation to “Hospitable Linguistics” an exploratory residency project in Morocco and Nigeria, with the participation of high-profile non-conformist thinkers in linguistics, which seeks to develop new, participatory strategies of doing non-hegemonic and paradigm-defying linguistics.
It strikes me as very unusual that a scholar of Cultural Studies, like Dr. Thomas, should be so much at ease in linguistics, allowing him to conduct the kind of research and activities that normally require a rigorous academic training in the language sciences. I have been very impressed with the quality of the data and Dr. Thomas’ own evaluation of the data regarding languages use patterns, social variation and the socio-history of Tobagonian Creole and its speakers.
In my view, Dr. Thomas’ intellectual versatility and ability to transcend and challenge disciplinary boundaries are precious qualities that are becoming rare with the current trend towards over-specialization in the humanities. Any institution that has Dr. Thomas in its ranks will stand to benefit enormously from his holistic, yet rigorous approach to research, learning, and teaching. I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend Dr. Thomas for the position of Lecturer in Cultural Studies at UWI St. Augustine.
Tel: (852) 3917 8606
Fax: (852) 2546 7477
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.linguistics.hku.hk
Hong Kong, 24 January 2020 Reference for Dr. Charleston ThomasDr. Kofi Yakpo Associate Professor School of Humanities (Linguistics) The University of Hong Kong Email: [email protected]
Paid Services
As a Transformative Artist-Educator, my paid services will encompass a range of offerings that
integrate creative arts, emotional intelligence, and humanistic education.
Workshops and Masterclasses (still trying to come up with another name for these)
- Creative Writing & Emotional Expression: Workshops focusing on the craft of writing as a tool for self-exploration, storytelling, and emotional catharsis. These could be themed around memory, identity, or the intersection of personal history and cultural narratives.
- Music & Humanity Workshops: Sessions where students learn to channel emotion through singing and piano playing, blending the technical aspects of music with the spiritual and emotional depths, much like how Nina Simone approached performance.
- Caribbean Oral Traditions & Storytelling: Masterclasses on Caribbean-style storytelling, emphasizing how oral traditions can cultivate community, deepen personal connections, and enrich cultural understanding.
Lecture-Performances ('Transformative Sessions')
- These will be a blend of performance (music, poetry) and teaching. The use of live creative expression to illustrate concepts, followed by interactive discussions with participants about emotional intelligence, nature, human connection, social justice, and more.
- These sessions will also focus on deepening students’ intellectual and emotional engagement with Caribbean culture, nature, and history through music and creative writing.
One-on-One Mentorship & Coaching
- Creative Mentorship: Personalized mentorship for university students or artists who want to explore their own creative paths while gaining guidance on emotional growth, artistic technique, and intellectual development.
Retreats or Immersive Experiences
- Nature & Creativity Retreats: Multi-day experiences that combine creative writing, music, and interaction with the natural environment. These retreats will focus on participants rediscovering their relationship with the world through creativity, reflection, and communal experiences.
- Transformative Creative Immersions: Weekends or week-long programs where participants engage in intensive creative practices (writing, music, oral traditions) with a focus on emotional transformation and human connection.
Course Development & Curriculum Design
- Humanities & Arts-Based Courses: I also design or consult on university courses that integrate emotional education, creativity, and interdisciplinary humanities approaches. These courses are to be marketed to universities looking to revamp their curricula to align with more humanistic values.
- Emotional Literacy Through the Arts: A program that focuses on teaching students how to engage more deeply with their emotions through creative practices like writing, music, and storytelling.
Consulting for Educational Reform
- Offer consulting services to universities and educational institutions seeking to rethink their approach to education, particularly around the integration of creative arts and emotional intelligence in academic environments.
Keynote Speaking & Public Performances
- Paid public speaking engagements where you share insights from your career as both an artist and educator, discussing the transformative power of the arts in education. This will also be integrated with live performances of my music or readings of my creative writing.
Cultural Consultancy & Advisory
- I also offer consultancy services to institutions looking to develop curricula or programs focused on Caribbean oral traditions, arts-based learning, or emotional and environmental sensibilities within an educational framework.