By: Staff Writer
September 7, 2021
This Trinidadian award winning author just wants a donut and doubles once a week for the rest of his life after winning the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) “Writers in the Caribbean” prize, his first ever award.
Akhim Alexis, winner of the BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean, told Caribbean Magazine Plus how he felt about winning this year’s prize: “I was actually very shocked that I won, so It’s really a fulfilling experience and I’m truly grateful to the judges for selecting my story.
“This is the first time that I’ve won an award for my creative writing. I was a finalist last year and decided to re-enter this year (best decision I ever made). I was also a finalist for the Bocas Lit Fest Johnson and Amoy Writers prize earlier this year, and I won the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars Graduate Essay Competition 2019, but the latter was for an academic essay.”
The BCLF was held this year virtually due to the COVID-19 safety concerns, however it was still a splendid cultural event for people of the Caribbean diaspora as it displayed the literary genius of the Caribbean people.
This year’s theme, “A Tapestry of Words and Worlds: Meditations from the Diaspora,” explores and reveres the connections, ties and bonds between the Caribbean ancestral lands and the diaspora communities they have birthed.
Akhim won this year’s prize for his entry “Wailers,” a ticklish look at funeral culture and politics in the Caribbean. Worth every word on your screen or paper.
Akhim started writing stories in the last two years or so, but not consistently as he said but I working on becoming a more disciplined writer.
He also said: “Writing is one form of understanding and navigating the world, and it is the form that I’m most comfortable operating in. I tend to read as much as I can and this also helps me formulate a lot of ideas which I then try to flesh out through my writing. So inspiration can come from anywhere really, but primarily I think being introduced to stories from an early age has helped my imagination in the long run. Being very observant and noticing the small things also help.”
Akhim also told us a little about himself and how he grew up: “I’m from Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in Tacarigua. I became interested in books from a very young age, so naturally I made sure that it didn’t matter what I was doing, some literature was always in the mix. I just completed a Masters in Literatures in English at The University of the West indies and spend a lot of my time reading, working and watching TV shows (I follow a lot of TV shows) House of Cards, Six Feet Under, Shameless, OZ, The Crown, Modern Family and Sense8 are some of my favourites to name a few.
“If I could have a Donut and Doubles at least once a week for the rest of my life, everything would fall into place. My dislikes, I could probably create an extended inventory, but I’ll say that I detest the idea of having to be everything to everyone all of the time, it’s accompanied by a level of performativity that I find very unsettling and somewhat ridiculous.
“You won’t always live up to everyone’s expectations and there’s value in that, you’re leaving room for your own expectations. I’m big on protecting my peace so if that means disengaging, re-evaluating or simply ignoring, do that. Just be kind along the way.”