Into such an India I am born. As the firstborn daughter, I enjoy an enviable position in the family and am subject to huge amounts of pampering.

To me, being a slut meant being promiscuous, and being promiscuous meant being desirable, and being desirable meant being powerful.

It stretched its body from the roof of the cage to kiss her back as if the two were lovers.

No more than dancer from dance, art from life, can you tell the placemat from the supper.

They were African American women who were on fire, and most of the world craved their heat.

It’s not about a cat. My relationship with my cat was civil. She didn’t like people; she only liked me.

My phone goes off. It’s a text. The first response to my ad today: “Nice pic. Got a face?”

A discussion with Jacqueline Bishop, the winner of the 2016 nonfiction Bocas Prize, about art, feminism, and the state of Caribbean literature.

"...being a slut meant being promiscuous, and being promiscuous meant being desirable, and being desirable meant being powerful."