In the following essay, Brathwaite examines African influences on Caribbean folk traditions, stressing that although highly focused on religion, African cultural practices and norms not only survived periods of slavery and colonization, but that they continue to influence Caribbean folk culture in form, literature, and rhetoric.

In the following essay, Luis provides an overview of Spanish-Caribbean literature written in the United States, briefly discussing the works of such authors as Reinaldo Arenas, José Martí, and others.

In the following essay, Phaf explores the interplay between the Caribbean imagination and the literature of the countries comprising the Caribbean basin, focusing particularly on the Antilles and Surinam.

In the following essay, Luis provides an appraisal of the literary histories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo.

In the following essay, Pizarro surveys the historical, political, and cultural background that defines Caribbean literature, noting the vast differences among the societies that comprise the Caribbean and theorizing that the literature produced by these societies serves to unite them in a way that overrides many political and cultural conflicts.

In the following essay, Rodriguez provides a brief literary and political history of the Caribbean, focusing mainly on its female writers and their place in traditional Caribbean cultural society.