“Hi I'm Jessica (you can call me Jess), my pronouns are she/her & I’m the Rebel Women Lit Librarian.”

Since we launched our book club in 2017, we’ve had an unofficial library in RWL - if there is a book you wanted and someone had it, you could borrow it and return it. In January last year, Jess prompted us to make our community library official and open to everyone, and it’s one of the biggest and best things we’ve done at Rebel Women Lit.

So let’s meet the engine behind our free community library.

What’s your favourite thing about libraries?

Libraries are one of the only places left in the world where you’re not just seen as a consumer, you’re a human being. The library is a universally free place to access information and to strengthen communities, learn more about world, and become more aware and tolerant of lives and experiences different from one’s own. No matter you’re age, race, sex where you live, what you earn. It can be a place of refuge too, for adults and kids. You’re not limited to just accessing books too, they’re films, music, even video games. Whether you want to learn a language, or get help with homework, find a quiet place to read or just need access to WIFI, libraries are there to help communities in some way, and I feel that they’re taken for granted.

Which book(s) in our community library do you think everyone should read and why?

I loved The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell. I read it with the RWL book club for June 2019. I love historical fiction and magical realism so using both those themes to explore the effects of colonialism in Zambia? With multi-racial, multi-generational family characters? Mostly women? I was hooked! There’s also a bit of science fiction - it’s truly a great epic covering parts of Zambian history of colonialism, the fight for independence, the Kariba dam and environmental issues, the real-life Zambian space program and the HIV epidemic, oh my!. Finally, there’s use of the greek chorus trope where they break the fourth wall talk to the reader, but the ‘they’ are a swarm of mosquitoes, so that was interesting.

What are you passionate about other than books?

 I’m passionate about environmental justice, cycling, zero waste, gardening, movies, writing (sort of). I’m in the process of starting a sustainability consulting business to serve small and medium sized businesses in Jamaica to implement zero waste practices in their business operations. I hope to help businesses be more sustainable and connect more to the environment and their consumers that works in their financial budget as well for long-term changes. In the future I also hope to start a composting service , as well for businesses and residents alike, while also educating people about soil regeneration, accessible organic gardening and truly connecting to the earth

In addition to running the RWL library, you've also been donating books to the Tom Redcam Library, how do you decide which books to donate and what's that process been like?

I do have the privilege of buying books locally and from online stores like In the U.S. , but I usually read books once and I keep them on my shelves. I kept thinking how more people could have access to the books I read, and it’ll be different genres : fiction, poetry, graphic novels/comics, non-fiction, most of them are not sold locally. You don’t really see recently published books in our libraries, so I made a commitment that for every physical copy of a book I buy, I’d buy a second copy for the Tom Redcam Library (the JLS is very strict about the physical condition of books for donation, so its just wise to buy a new copy); there’s no real selection process really.

A lot of times I buy books directly from small publishers that don’t have an e-book option, there are books I don’t like to read in e-book form, like poetry, I need to have a physical copy for me to take in the content. Otherwise I buy books from my Kindle. For the donations I just pile up a bunch that I’ve bought overtime , and when I think I have a good amount I bring them over to donate. I understand I can’t change, nor am I responsible for changing, the library institution here in Jamaica, but if there’s a small thing I can do to get books out there for people to discover. I also do my best to share books from my personal library with others.

What's something you dream about for the RWL library and/or libraries in general?

Oh so much! Making libraries, no matter in urban or the most rural areas, relevant and engaging and welcoming and comforting! I’d love for public libraries in Jamaica to carry Current, recently published books of all genres, all Libraries would have programs for helping the unhoused community and domestic violence victims get help and resources, job application services, borrowing films, and film nights showcasing Caribbean- made fils especially, services to help prospective authors launch their own books, having more books in audiobook form, even some in braille for the blind community . I’d also love to see an organic garden and park at each library, people would have access to healthy food, learn about gardening and composting, even cooking classes. 

For the RWL Library I’d also love to have more electric copies, even audiobooks for making them more accessible - I’d also love for public libraries here to highlight books read by the club ‘RWL Approved’ if you will, even a children’s library selection. I’d also love (in a Post COVID-19 Jamaica at least) for RWL to partner with sites like cafes and have bookshelves with RWL library books and a little reading nook for people to enjoy them at the locations. There’s a Trinidadian instagram account called @fortheloveofreadingtt that creates community spaces for books to be read and shared: people can take and also leave books for others to enjoy. Maybe RWL can have their own space too, like a library/bookstore/cafe/community organising and event space 

Speed Round:

Who/What do you find inspiring right now?:
Small business owners pushing and thriving through the pandemic
Book you're reading now:
Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana
Last book you read and loved:
Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Ebook, Physical or Audio:
E-book except for poetry books
Favourite Literary Character:
One that has recently resonated with me is Laura Olamina from Octavia Butler's Parable Series

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