My name is
Geoffrey Philp, and I am a writer from Jamaica. I started Geoffrey Philp's Blog Spot to provide readers with information about my writing and the work of contemporary
Caribbean and
South Florida writers.
Stories and poems about
father-son relationships,
Anancy (Anansi), and the effects of the
Jamaican/Caribbean diaspora have always appealed to me and are the major themes that I've explored in my
books--some of which are used as textbooks in many
schools, colleges, and universities.
I am available for
"Meet the Author" readings/lectures and creative writing workshops where I focus on the
craft of writing short stories and poems.
If you'd like to contact me, here's my e-mail address: geoffreyphilp101 [at] gmail.com.
The Abbreviated Bio
Geoffrey Philp is the author of a children’s book,
Grandpa Sydney’s Anancy Stories; a novel,
Benjamin, My Son; two collections of short stories,
Uncle Obadiah and the Alien and
Who's Your Daddy?: And Other Stories, and five poetry collections:
Exodus and Other Poems, Florida Bound, hurricane center, xango music, and
Twelve Poems and A Story for Christmas. His work has been anthologized in both the
Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and the
Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse. He teaches English and creative writing at Miami Dade College where he is the chairperson of the College Prep. Department.
The Long Story
I was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and I attended Mona Primary and
Jamaica College, where I studied literature under the tutelage of
Dennis Scott. When I left Jamaica in 1979, I went to
Miami Dade College and after graduating, I studied Caribbean, African and
African-American literature with
Dr. O.R. Dathorne and creative writing with Lester Goran, Evelyn Wilde Mayerson, and
Isaac Bashevis Singer. Since then, I have attended workshops with
Derek Walcott ,
Edward Albee, and Israeli playwright, Matti Meged. As a
James Michener Fellow at the
University of Miami, I studied poetry under
Kamau Brathwaite and fiction with
George Lamming.
In 1990, I published my first book of poems,
Exodus and Other Poems, and four other poetry collections have followed:
Florida Bound (1985), hurricane center (1998),
xango music (2001), and
Twelve Poems and A Story for Christmas (2005). I have also written a book of short stories
, Uncle Obadiah and the Alien (1997), and a novel,
Benjamin, My Son, which was nominated for the
IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize.
I continue to work on many projects such as a children's book,
Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories, and just completed a book of short stories,
Who's Your Daddy? and Other Stories (
Peepal Tree Press, 2009), a hypertext novel,
Virtual Yardies, and a novel,
A LoveSong for Kathryn, which is set in South Florida and begins on
Bloomsday. The major stars of the novel are a hurricane, a missing daughter, and a Rastaman—kind of
Zora Neale Hurston meets South Florida and Jamaica.
My poems and short stories have appeared in
Small Axe, Asili, The Caribbean Writer, Gulf Stream, Florida in Poetry: A History of the Imagination, Wheel and Come Again: An Anthology of Reggae Poetry, Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root, T
he Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories, and
The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.
I hope you will enjoy reading
Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories.
Blessings,
Geoffrey
