Living and Writing in the Caribbean: An Experiment

While recovering from the shock of having met somebody who has the audacity to describe themselves as a writer, the innocent, in my experience, generally scratches about for a while trying to think of something interesting to say about the curious profession of the person before them. 'Well, it must be quite insecure,' venture some; others might ask, T)o you do anything else but write?' The more daring come straight to the point. 'I'd write if I had more spare time.' Occasionally somebody will say, 'It must be nice being able to live and work where you like.' This last statement is the one I wish to say a few words about, namely the rather romantic notion that writers can live and work anywhere, and, if you'll excuse the indulgence, I'll make the odd reference to my own situation as a writer born on the small island of St Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean, who came to England as a small child, grew up in England, but who has spent much of the last decade shuttling back and forth between the two places.