St. Martin will take centre stage this summer as it hosts the 49th Annual Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) Conference, welcoming over 300 distinguished scholars, writers, artists, and students from across the region and the diaspora. Held from 1–7 June 2025 at Simpson Bay Resort, the conference will critically explore the Caribbean’s past, present, and future through political, historical, educational, and cultural lenses.
For the first time in its history, CSA will convene on the island of St. Martin, marking a significant moment for local and regional intellectual life. With the conference’s overarching theme, “Reparations: Resistance, Resilience, Reproduction, and Rehabilitation,” the spotlight will also shine on the role of literature and independent publishing in shaping Caribbean thought.
One of the event’s marquee plenary sessions, Unshackling Memory: The Literary and Publishing Works of Lasana M. Sekou, will honour the work of St. Martin’s most prolific cultural voice. Sekou, a poet, author, and projects director of House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP), has long been a literary beacon not only for St. Martin but for the wider Caribbean. The session coincides with HNP’s 45th anniversary, a fitting tribute to a publisher that has consistently championed Caribbean literature, history, and identity.
“Hosting this assembly—one that engages these dimensions with both critical insight and professional rigour—is powerful,” said Sekou. “It’s a moment of affirmation for St. Martin’s place in Caribbean intellectual and cultural life.”
The plenary, taking place on Tuesday 3 June from 3:30 to 5:00 pm in the Simpson Bay Resort ballroom, will be open to the public. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, a native of St. Martin, faculty member at Howard University, and current CSA President. Arrindell has played a key role in bringing CSA 2025 to the island and integrating it with broader community events.
An international panel of scholars will analyse Sekou’s decades of work and the wider significance of his literary output. Speakers include:
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Dr. Dannabang Kuwabong (Ghana/University of Puerto Rico),
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Dr. Margaret Shrimpton Masson (Mexico/UK),
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Fabian Adekunle Badejo (St. Martin), and
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Dr. Emilio Jorge Rodríguez (Cuba).
As part of the session, attendees will also get an exclusive preview of Dr. Kuwabong’s forthcoming book, Rhetoric of Resistance, Labor of Love: The Ecopoetics of Nationhood in the Poetry and Prose of Lasana M. Sekou, which will officially launch at the 22nd annual St. Martin Book Fair on Friday, 6 June, in the Poetry Garden at the Collectivity government building in Marigot.
“The CSA conference will feature six major plenaries,” said Dr. Arrindell. “But we also want the St. Martin community to feel welcome—these sessions are not just for academics. They’re an opportunity for everyone to engage in meaningful conversations about the future of our Caribbean societies.”
In addition to the plenaries, the CSA conference will host over 32 academic panels, showcasing research across fields such as Caribbean history, politics, literature, environment, and education. A Book Salon and Author Celebration will also spotlight recent publications by CSA members and guest authors.
Collaboration between the CSA and the St. Martin Book Fair is a key part of the week’s programming. According to Book Fair coordinator Shujah Reiph, joint public activities will celebrate the island’s vibrant arts scene, including a cultural showcase of St. Martin music, dance, and theatre. This event will now take place at the Ruby Bute Silk Cotton Grove Art Gallery in Cripple Gate, not the Marigot Waterfront as previously announced.
“We want St. Martin to shine,” said Reiph. “This is a chance for our people to meet leading authors, thinkers, and educators. But it’s also a celebration of what we’ve achieved here—and what more we can do by working together.”
The CSA conference rotates annually among different Caribbean nations, and its presence in St. Martin underscores the island’s growing significance in the region’s cultural and academic dialogue. With a legacy of resilience and creative resistance, St. Martin is not merely hosting the conversation—it is helping to shape it.
For more information and registration details, visit: www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org