A Vincentian-born author recently added three books to his catalogue of works which he hopes will bring about an awakening in his readers.

Carden Michael, who has been writing for over 20 years, resides in the United States.

The author, who is originally from Chateaubelair, said that his recent visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines was his way of coming back and trying to make a contribution to the country he is from.

“My journey as a writer has been an inspiration because I have never really studied the pedagogy of literature so to speak. It comes through inspiration because everything I write…it just pops into my head or like a vibration, something that I feel. Whenever I feel that inspiration, I have to grab my pen and paper and start writing,” Michael told SEARCHLIGHT in a recent interview.

The author poured his inspirations onto the pages of three books, which he published this year, surrounding topics of race, class, religion, slavery and politics.

The first of his three most recent publications is titled ‘Stop Messing With Ma Negro’, which is a collection of poems that he wrote in the last two years.

“It’s really making a statement or I should say an appeal to those forces…the progeny of colonialism who still has an impact on the way how we as African people think and that can be seen through politics, religion and even sub-cultures…” Michael said.

He also has a 13-chapter book titled ‘Emancipation Proclamation: 600 years enslaved by Babylon’; a collection of essays.

His third book is a novel titled ‘A Narrative of the Dry Bones’ which attempts to give “a global view of the situation that black people face” and offer solutions to those issues.

“I hope that they can connect with self, nation, with history because too often, there are so many contradictions that are said about us, so these books can be an eye opener to oneself,” the author said. “I think that there is a moral decay within our country and it would help one to reflect on himself and society on a whole…help to bring about change in one’s attitude and within one’s mind.”

Michael said that he is trying to have his books stocked at local bookshops. But until then, interested persons can purchase these books on Amazon for US$14.95.

Michael has written 12 books and has also produced two CDs with dub poetry.