The Nakedness of New

By Althea Romeo-Mark

In this remarkable collection, Althea Romeo-Mark uses poetry like a lance, a magnifying glass, and a soothing balm. Her verse gives the reader a close-up view of life as an immigrant in the Caribbean and details her experiences in England after fleeing the violence of the Liberian civil war. Romeo-Mark grew up in the West Indies, where her family drifted from island to island looking for work. In a series of gripping poems, she takes us inside the uneasy tapestry of immigrant cultures that form the Caribbean islands: a pastiche of hunger and oppression that makes survival a daily struggle. She goes on to explore the problems encountered by women in a society that is male dominated, unstable, and unjust; by immigrants displaced from their homes and their ways of life; and by families committed to each other no matter what comes. Divided topically, The Nakedness of New also includes three revealing personal essays and a section focused on her maternal grandmother, a controversial personality who held the family together. Through it all run the themes of resiliency, heart, and dedication to living-all things found in ordinary people if only you take the time to look for them.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1979850798
• ISBN13: 9781979850797
• Release Date: March 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 174 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"