Selected Publications by Adventist Caribbean Authors (1970–2020)

The genesis and growth of literature by Adventist Caribbean writers in the Caribbean Union cannot be separated from the growth of the repository of what is officially termed “West Indian Literature,” a twentieth-century phenomenon because of the historical/political reality in the region.¹ Like West Indian Literature, the growth of Adventist Literature in the Caribbean Union was fostered by the existence of magazines and journals, which allowed for literary expression.²

Early Beginnings

Early converts, who later became colporteurs and ministers, were the first to write and be published in Adventist journals such as the Adventist Review and Caribbean Watchman, issued at first from Port of Spain and Kingston in 1904. They were later published in Port of Spain only.³ Eric John Murray (1982) described the Watchman as a monthly newspaper that carried general articles, including dealing with piety and prophecy.⁴ Among the believers, there were leading writers in these journals who attended the Battle Creek schools, in the United States of America. Among them were Dr. Charles Cave from Barbados and Pastor Phillip Giddings from Guyana.⁵

In addition to the Caribbean Watchman, there was also the East Caribbean Gleaner (1905), which later became the Caribbean Gleaner, The Gleanings (1908) which later became the South Caribbean Gleaner (1920), and the Field Gleanings (early 1920s).⁶ These publications allowed for the inclusion of additional writers in the widening pool of what would later expand into Adventist literature in the Caribbean Union. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, several evangelists recorded their exploits, and these included Eric S. Greaves and Clifton van Putten.⁷ In the late 40s and 50s, The College Tidings provided an opportunity for students at Caribbean Union College (CUC) to add to that pool of literature.

In the early 1970s, Kembleton Wiggins became the first Seventh-day Adventist in the Caribbean Union to write a book. Entitled Soul Winning Made Easier: The Psychology of Getting More Decisions, the book was published by the Pacific Press in 1975. Two years later, in 1977, Glenn O. I. Phillips authored his book The Making of A Christian College: 1927-1977. That same year, Patricia Norma Modeste authored The Birth of a Poem, which was published by Vermont Press, 1977. These three pioneering works were more than tripled in the following decade.

By the turn of the century, the advent of digital and electronic publishing, globalization, and modern technology generated creativity in publishing, and contributed to a proliferation of literature in a variety of genres with myriad themes written by Adventist authors of Caribbean heritage. Most of these books have been self-published, given the limited opportunities for publishing with international Seventh-day Adventist publishing associations. Publishing ventures, particularly formal ones, are few and far between, so many authors in the Caribbean Union resort to self-publishing.⁸ Authors with Caribbean roots who have migrated have had the privilege of being published by large publishing houses, affording them the visibility that self-published authors in the Caribbean Union, generally, do not experience.

Adventist literature in the Caribbean Union, in this article, refers to published books written by Seventh-day Adventist Caribbean authors who were born in the territories comprising the Caribbean Union: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States Virgin Islands, and the islands of Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.⁹ The books by these Caribbean authors were not necessarily published in the Caribbean. They comprise literary works - both fiction and non-fiction, poetry, and prose. The genres covered are varied. Broad categories include, but are not limited to: Autobiography, Bibliography, Biographies, Business, Christian Living, Doctrine, Evangelism, Family Life, General Living, Health and Nutrition, History, Novels, Pastoral Care, Religion, and Retention.

In the absence of a bibliography of Seventh-day Adventist authors in the Caribbean Union, the following served as tools for locating published books of these authors: Online library catalogs - including World Cat, the Internet, bibliographies, indexes, and oral references. This means that books that may not be visible or identifiable through these search strategies, may be overlooked in this article. The literature identified spans five decades 1970-1979; 1980-1989; 1990-1999; 2000-2009; and 2010-2019. A chronological listing is preferred, given the wide disparity in the subject content of the published works identified. Only the first publication of each author is provided although, where necessary, reference would be made to other works the author may have published.

1970 - 1979

Wiggins, Kembleton. Soul Winning Made Easier: The Psychology of Getting More Decisions. Nampa, ID.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1975. This pioneering title revolutionized sermon sequencing and the art of appeal from a psychological perspective.

Phillips, Glenn O. I. The Making of a Christian College: Caribbean Union College, 1927-1977. Port of Spain, Trinidad: The College Press, 1977. Additionally, he authored titles on a history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Barbados and the Caribbean Union.

Modeste, Patricia Norma. The Birth of a Poem. Vermont Press, 1977.

1980 - 1989

Martinborough, Gordon. Operation Andrew: One-to-One Manual. College Press, 1980. He later published other evangelistic handbooks and family life manuals and books.

Gooding, Earl. The West Indies at the Crossroads. Schenkman Pub. Co., 1981. Following this early work which covers politics and government in the British West Indies, he went on to publish a book of poetry (2002) as well as a historical novel in 2018.

Modeste, Naomi N. Your Vegetarian Cookbook for Healthful Cooking: With Over 100 Recipes Using Foods of the Caribbean. Port of Spain, Trinidad: The College Press, 1981. This author’s pioneering works focused on health, communicable diseases and vegetarian cooking. Upon her retirement in 2018, she published an autobiography.

Adams, Roy. The Sanctuary Doctrine: Three Approaches in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Berrien Springs, MI.: Andrews University Press, 1981. Following this publication of his doctoral thesis by Andrews University Press, Adams published other titles on the Sanctuary, The Nature of Christ, and on issues facing the church and God’s promises and leading in his life.

Murray, Eric John. A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad and Tobago, 1891-1981. Port of Spain, Trinidad: College Press, 1982. Murray also published another work, Religions in Trinidad and Tobago and a national biography.

Ramoutar, Harold. Champions Don't Always Come 1^st. Danprint Ltd, 1983. This work is an account of the first mass marathon held in Trinidad in 1983. Thereafter, he published both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Sawh, Ruth. Rotiless Ramgoolie, A Dialect Reading. Trinprint Ltd., 1983. The author subsequently published other novels along with several short stories on a range of themes.

Ferdinand, T. Leslie. Career Guidance for Caribbean Youth: A study guide and seminar in decision making especially for youth of the Caribbean. Trinidad, W.I. 1983. After this career guidance manual for Caribbean youth, he published a Study Guide for Sabbath School Teaching which was republished by IADPA in 2016.

Desir, Monica. Thank God for Good and Bad Times. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985.

Fenton-Willoughby, Susan, M. The Go-Getter. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985

Browne, Whitman T. The Christena Disaster in Retrospect: Error, Tragedy, Challenge and Hope (A Caribbean Story), 1985. In 2013, he provided a new edition, The Christena Disaster Forty-Two Years Later – Looking Backward, Looking Forward. He revisited the account in 2020 with the title, The Christena: A Story of Tragedy and Survival.

Howell, Everette, W. A new beginning. Lincolnshire, U.K: Stanborough Press, 1986. A widely published author, Howell focused his later works on Christian life, marriage and the family, interpersonal relationships, and leadership.

Jean-Francois, Gilbert. Principles of Accounts--Revision aid for cxc-multiple choice questions with answers. College Press, 1986. He also has a published work on debt liquidation.

Scott, Irwin. The Voice. Universal Publishers, 1988. He later authored a book on wedding sermons.

1990 - 1999

Pamphile, Clarence. 6000 Years and the Advent Hope: A Presentation of Some Historical, Biblical, and Scientific Data. Roach Printing Company, 1990. He also authored a book on righteousness by faith.

2000 - 2009

Valley, Clinton. What Doest Thou Here? Hope Consulting, 2000. His subsequent publications have a strong focus on leadership related themes.

Yearwood, Merle S. I. Barbados, Here I Come! Morning Star Publications, 2000. In addition to poetry, the author also published books on humor and inspiration.

Welch, Pedro L. V. with Richard A Goodridge. "Red" and Black Over White: Free Coloured Women in Pre-emancipation Barbados. Carib Research & Publications Ltd, 2000. Other co-authored publications prior to and after 2003 have themes of slavery and the U.S./Caribbean relations.

St. Hill, Meletha. Career Planning for Growth and Success. Trinidad and Tobago: Hope Publishers, 2002. Additionally, the author published works on marriage and family, motivation, life skills, and brain power.

Duncan, Silma. Poetry from Bequia. 2001. Referred to as the Poet Laureate of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, this author has self-published eight books of poetry that include subjects such as love, relationships, and the treatment of women.

Ruthven, Roy. A Challenge to the Remnant: Designing our Mission Strategy to Impact the Real World. NDM Books, 2002.

Singh, Teelbaney R. Understanding Your Hindu Neighbour: how to witness to him as to a friend. Trinidad, 2002. In addition to themes of evangelism, his publications also deal with the art of pastoral visitation.

Douglas, Claude J. When the Village was an Extended Family in Grenada. Maryzoon Press, 2003. His subsequent publications included subjects of social life, politics, and governance.

Haynes, Dale. Over to You: 11 fundamentals of cricket that can transform your life, leadership and business. George, Barbados, 2004. The author applies fundamentals from cricket to teach lessons for life.

Jack, Owen E. What you need to know about grief. Mohan's Printers, 2004. Subsequent publications cover the subjects of demon possession and worship.

Jones, R. Clifford. Preaching with Power: black preachers share secrets for effective preaching. General Conference Ministerial Association of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005. Additionally, he published a book on James K. Humphrey and the Sabbath-Day Adventists.

Josiah, Gloria P. Ministry Adventures in the Caribbean. St. Croix, Virgin Islands, 2006. An autobiographical work on missionary service in the Caribbean.

McGarrell, Shirley-Ann. Mouthfuls of Joy for Today. Trinidad and Tobago, 2006. Subsequent publications focus on daily living as well as a biography.

Meade, Delores. The Promise of God’s Unfailing Love, 2007. An autobiographical devotional.

Luke, Learie. Identity and Secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889-1980. University Press of the West Indies, 2007.

Brumble, Anthony. Rhythms of life: a treasure house of themes for reflection, inspiration and relaxation. Trinidad and Tobago, 2009.

Richards, Hyacinth. What to Expect When You Are Married, 2009. A publication for building strong bonds in marriage.

Prime, Peter J. The Gospel of Love and Real Evangelism. Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2009.

2010 - 2019

Joseph-Collins, Nadine. Step by step with God: a semester devotional for university students. Trinidad and Tobago. 2010. Subsequent publications include the WOW book prayer series. 

Reid, Phillip. The new love therapy: an exposition on the healing virtues of love. Support Publications, 2010.

King, Hubert. Broken but not Forsaken: an autobiography. Caribbean Hills Publishers, 2011.

Thompson-Plank, Ivy and Tryphean St. John Cornett. Rivers of Water: A History of Seventh-day Adventism in Anguilla: Its Roots and the St. John Shoot. Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2012.

Andrews, Phyllis and Winifred M. Granger. Held captive: memoirs of a Caribbean woman. Trinidad, 2012.

Ward, Roselyn. Mountain to Climb. Trinidad, 2012. A biographical publication on the author’s parents with an emphasis on the mother.

Isaacs, Alexander. Thy Will Be Done. Teach Services Inc., 2013. An autobiography on God’s leading in the author’s life.

Thorpe, Cheryl. You can’t pretend the truth away. Outskirts Press, 2013. An autobiographical account raising themes of love, spirituality and resilience. It chronicles challenges with marriage, including domestic abuse.

Harvey, Patricia. Stones of Remembrance. Caribbean Chapters Publishing, 2013. The publication provides spiritual lessons from the formation of stones.

Pierre, Rawle. Journey to the Center of My Heart. Trinidad. 2013. Poetry is utilized to illustrate the concept of God seeking to embrace humanity

Daley-Semper, Eulalie. Factors That Contribute to Successful Schools: A Caribbean Perspective. Xlibris, 2014. The author utilizes personal and professional experiences to examine factors which contribute to successful schools in the Caribbean.

St. Brice, Hillman. Keys for Effective Living. Trinidad. 2014. This publication focuses on the powerful influence of parenting.

Rambally, Josiah. Beyond Medicine: A Medical Doctor’s Spiritual Odyssey. St. Lucia. 2014. A medical doctor utilizes scientific and spiritual synthesis to explore human disorders.

Glasgow, Minerva. Socio-economic Impact of WTO's Policies. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2014.

Estwick, Nola. The Big Secret to Unlocking the Power of God's Word . . . Simply Believe It! West Bow Press, 2014.

Williams, Westwick Abijah. Christianity in Crisis: Admonitions to the Modern Christian. Houston, Texas: Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency (SBPRA), 2014.

Hislop, Anisha. For Single Mothers: The Self-Care Guide. Trinidad. Drawing on personal experience, the author provides guidelines for self-care for single mothers.

Hyacinth, Brigette. The Edge of Leadership: A Leader's Handbook for Success. Trinidad and Tobago. 2015. This and subsequent publications focus on effective and successful leadership.

Williams, Curtis W. A. Point Blank INSPIRATION: Be Inspired to Reinvent Yourself by Renewing Your Mind and Redeeming Time - A True Story of Intense Divine Revelation for Introspection and Immediate Action. Kindle Edition, 2015.

Ifill-Homeward, Heather. Zap the Mosquito. Edu Treasure Publications, 2015. Fictionalized societal issues such as elections (2015) and Dengue Fever (2016) in narratives targeted to children and young adults.

Coomansingh, Johnny. Seven Years on Adventist Street. Outskirts Press, 2015.

Pierre-Robertson, Petra. No Guarantee. Lifegate, 2015. This, along with subsequent publications, discusses issues such as love and romance, domestic violence, leadership, and Christian lifestyle.

Deane, Wanda G. Who can find the Keys in the Sea? Inspiring Stories of People Who Had Encounters with God. Remnant Publications, 2015. A collection of inspiring testimonies from the author, her friends, and acquaintances.

Martinborough, Waveney. He Captured My Heart! My Story of Love. Teach Services Inc., 2015. The author provides an autobiography of her love story with Christ.

Simon, Howard J. Excellent Preaching: The 5P’s Approach. USA. 2016. Theorizes the art of preaching.

Reefe, Nicola. This Ability: Finding My Vision. Blurp. 2016. An autobiographical account of the author’s challenges with her disability.

Hinds, Kymone. This is (ur) Church: Where You Fit In. Watersprings Media House, 2017. The author explores what God intended the church to be, how people fit into the church and how the church fits into our daily lives.

Iheanacho, Shirley C. God's Incredible Plans for Me. Xulon Press, 2017. A personal account.

O’Neil, Ashton. Every Member, Every Day, Witnessing Deposits for Jesus. Trinidad. 2018. This publication provides 400 suggestions on different approaches to witnessing ministries.

David, Gaylene S. Moments Framed in Petroglyphs. 2018. This is an autobiographical memoir of poems. Her second book is a novelette captioned She Speaks in Silence.

Knowles, Wayne R. Disciples: Creating the Environment for Explosive Spiritual Growth (Disciple Making). 2018. This publication is a challenge to readers to become disciples.

Martin, Allison. Just for You Right Now. 2019. This publication provides motivational poetry.

Henry, Claudia. Laughing in the Face of Cancer: How God Used My Most Frightening Experience to Lead Me Into Multiple Rewarding Experiences. Kindle Edition, 2019.

Phillips, Dion E. Musings of a Caribbean Professor. Author House, 2019. The publication carries articles on Caribbean concerns including the mystery of evil and seeing Islam through Christian eyes.

Ollivierre, Dillon. En Route to Self and Society. 2019. Poetry which speaks to witnessing the revelation of God’s plan in our lives through overcoming challenges.¹⁰

Sources

“Caribbean Union Conference.” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Accessed May 13, 2021. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=13961.

Murray, Eric John. A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad and Tobago, 1891-1981. Port of Spain, Trinidad: The College Press, 1982.

Ramchand, Kenneth. “West Indian Literary History: Literariness, Orality and Periodization.” Callaloo, no. 34, Winter 1988, 95-110. Accessed May 13, 2021.

Simpson, Hyacinth M. “The BBC’s Caribbean Voices and the Making of an Oral Aesthetic in the West Indian Short Story.” Journal of the Short Story in English 57 (Autumn 2011): 56-68.

Notes

1. Kenneth Ramchand, “West Indian Literary History: Literariness, Orality and Periodization,” Callaloo, no. 34, Winter 1988, 95-110, accessed May 13, 2021.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Eric John Murray, A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad and Tobago, 1891-1981 (Port of Spain, Trinidad: The College Press, 1982), 36.↩

4. Ibid, 34.↩

5. Glenn O. Phillips, telephone interview by Clive P. Dottin on behalf of the author, April 15, 2021.↩

6. Murray, 40.↩

7. Glenn O. Phillips, telephone interview by Clive P. Dottin on behalf of the author, April 15, 2021.↩

8. Hyacinth M. Simpson, “The BBC’s Caribbean Voices and the Making of an Oral Aesthetic in the West Indian Short Story,” Journal of the Short Story in English 57 (Autumn 2011): 56-57, accessed May 13, 2021.↩

9. “Caribbean Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, accessed May 13, 2021, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=13961.↩

10. Unearthing writers who could not be located via regular search strategies across Amazon, the Internet, Databases, and Library Catalogs was challenging. Doubtless there are additional published literature by Adventist Caribbean authors that could not be located. To give Adventist Caribbean authors greater visibility, I appeal to those whose works are mainly self-published to place their publications online, in libraries, and in local bookstores so that their rich, relevant works are not sentenced to obscurity. I also encourage the publication of an annual annotated bibliography of Adventist literature in the Caribbean Union.↩