At Carifesta XV in Barbados, the timeless trickster Anansi took center stage during a rich literary conversation on the theme “Africa to the Diaspora and Beyond: Anansi.” The session brought together storytellers, writers, and cultural advocates to explore how this legendary figure continues to connect Africa and its diaspora through shared folklore.
The discussion, moderated by Ayesha Gibson Gill, featured acclaimed Barbadian author and filmmaker Shakirah M. Bourne, who announced her forthcoming collection, Bajan Anansi. The gathering was anything but passive. True to the spirit of Caribbean storytelling, Gibson Gill urged the audience to clap, chant, dance, and join in. “Storytelling isn’t just you sitting down passively accepting it like television,” she reminded participants. “Anansi has eight legs—that’s all of us together, spreading out.”
For Bourne, the project began in 2023 when she was asked to write an Anansi tale for an international textbook. Shockingly, her research revealed that most published Anansi stories in circulation were written by outsiders, many by white American men. “This is a character from Ghana who came over to the Caribbean, who inspired resistance and resilience,” she said. “How is it that even in 2023, authentic Black Caribbean voices telling Anansi stories are so hard to find?”
Out of that realization came a proposal to the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) boldly titled Justice for Anansi. Her mission: to research early Anansi tales, rewrite them through a distinctly Barbadian lens, commission local illustrations, and ensure wide access.
The result is Bajan Anansi, a collection of 14 retold and reimagined Anansi stories with illustrations by Barbadian artist Shara Spencer, to be published with Arts Etc. Importantly, 2,000 copies will be distributed free of charge to schools and libraries across Barbados, ensuring that children can rediscover Anansi in their own voices.
Bourne—already celebrated for her award-winning middle-grade novels including Josephine Against the Sea and Beware the Heart Man—has long drawn from Caribbean folklore. But she admitted Anansi wasn’t originally on her list of inspirations. “I was focused on characters like Sea Mama and the Heart Man. But realizing how Anansi’s stories have been published and owned by people outside the community—it annoyed me enough to take action.”
The upcoming book, designed for readers ages 10 and up (but accessible for younger audiences when read aloud), is expected to be released in early 2026 to coincide with African Heritage Month.
As Bourne concluded at Carifesta XV: “We’ve always told our stories orally, under trees, while washing dishes, raising our children. That’s why Anansi survived. But now, it’s time we write him down—in our own words—so he thrives.”
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
