Storytelling, Storytellers & Information Systems: with Emphasis on the Virgin Islands is an insightful and practical anthology of biographical stories and historical accounts in seven chapters. The title reflects the book’s focus on the role of storytelling in the Virgin Islands and its connection to information systems. It is based on the doctoral dissertation of Cipriani A. Phillip Jr., a native of Frederiksted, and was released in 2021 by BTB Publishing.
Chapter One comprises the historical development of storytelling followed by the preservation of stories and storytelling, Chapter Three introduces information systems, and Chapter Four showcases the Caribbean Geographical settings where Phillip can weave language into a concrete narrative as early as the 1800s, starting with the works and travels of Hans Jonathan who was born into slavery on St. Croix, Danish Virgin Islands in 1784 and took his freedom and escaped to Iceland at Djúpivogur where he worked as a trader, thus becoming Iceland’s first Black settler.
The book continues with Virgin Islands storytellers and information brokers like Enid Maria Baa, Leona Brady Watson, Gilbert Sprauve, June Alexa Vance Lindqvist, Richard A. Schrader, Sr., Ruth Beagles, Maurice M. Thomas, Karen Thurland, Gene Emmanuel, Ruth Moolenaar, Barbara Christian, Lois Hassell-Habtes, Mario Moorhead, and Gail Watson Chiang all of whom shared their knowledge with the community to increase pertinent historical information for intellectual, social, traditional, and cultural survival.
The author gracefully includes Anguilla and Sint Maarten Storytellers Patricia Juliette Christian and Lasana M. Sekou. Other storytellers from the wider Caribbean region are also featured, including Antigua and Barbuda’s Joanne C. Hillhouse, The Bahamas, Barbados Stories in the Atlantic, Cuba’s Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén, Dominica and Expansive Storytelling with Mary Eugenia Charles, Guyana South American Cousin Ivan Van Sertima, Haïti & Its Storytellers- Jean Price-Mars and Félix Morisseau-Leroy; Puerto Rican Storytelling with Pura Belpré, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, Felipe Luciano, and Julia Constanza Burgos García.
Jamaica Telling It with Louise Bennett and Ralston “Rex” Nettleford, Storytellers of Martinique are Édouard Glissant, René Ménil, Paulette Nardal, and Jeanne Nardal; Saint Kitts and Nevis Storytellers are Simon B. Jones-Hendrickson, Caryl Phillips, and Cyril Valentine Briggs; Saint Lucia Tells it in Thyme like Derek Alton Walcott and John Cherubin, Tortola, and the British Virgin Islands’ April Tia Glasgow, and Trinidad & Tobago’s Paul Keens-Douglas, Pearl Eintou-Springer, and Rita Cox.
Chapter Five is very insightful because it provides a new understanding of the topic. The author introduces a thought-provoking concept about the future role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in storytelling. It includes AI’s potential to assist, predict, and even generate texts for automated books and storytellers, opening up new possibilities for the art of storytelling. The author’s statement that once fully integrated, AI will make it comfortable and intuitive for us to interact with various virtual characters is hugely impressive. This milestone would be critical to the advancement of AI as it would closely mimic human interaction, such as the turn, tilt, and angle of my head when I move, how I make eye contact (sustained, extra blinking, and fleeting), the way I walk with my swagger, style, or my sophisticated professional manner…” (p.231).
It would be derelict of me not to highlight the practicality of the valuable bibliography and appendices. These are not just a collection of information but toolkits for any storytelling enthusiast. They include Studies for Storytelling, Selected Caribbean Proverbs, a Glossary, and Related Literary Periodicals, providing a wealth of additional resources and information and equipping you with everything you need to delve into the world of storytelling.
If Storytelling, Storytellers & Information Systems: with Emphasis on the Virgin Islands is that exciting, then what took this reviewer so long to share it? This book has been a constant companion, never leaving my hands to return this gift to the bookshelf. It is a trusted friend that I am excited to introduce to you.
Pick up a copy of this treasure trove that is super loaded with relevant information. This book is valuable to the Core Collection of the Virgin Islands Public Library System because it provides a comprehensive understanding of storytelling, its cultural significance, and its role in social bonding and compassion. You will understand the actual value of storytelling by Cipriani A. Phillip. It builds social bonding and compassion and invokes emotion!
—O.D. Alexander, PhD, is a retired Saint Croix Central High School music teacher. He has also taught at Julius E. Sprauve School and Guy Benjamin School in Saint John. He can be reached at od.alex1972@gmail.com.
