A Life in Carnival and Writing: Michael Anthony at Ninety

Jarula M.I. Wegner and Amanda T. McIntyre

Carnival and writing are two of the Trinidadian author Michael Anthony’s greatest lifelong passions. Anthony combined these two passions from early on, writing about carnival across literary genres, including short stories, novels and historical works. Yet interviews with Anthony discussing his relation to these two topics are surprisingly few and far between. In the present interview, therefore, he recalls his first experiences of carnival parades, describes his favourite era of Trinidad Carnival and comments critically on its recent developments. Concerning the second topic, he reveals how he initially came to writing, why he eventually settled on the form of the novel and what he believes is the role of the Caribbean writer today. The interview thereby documents the breadth and depth of his historical knowledge, his outstanding skills as a storyteller and the recollections of an accom