How do immigrants to Canada experience exile and diaspora? What happens when a person does not identify with a nostalgic past "there" or a present "here," but rather with "nowhere"? I am interested in the development of a diasporic critical consciousness in three recent novels by Caribbean-Canadian women writers. This paper uses theories of diaspora, cosmopolitanism, hybridity, kala pani discourse, and anti-racist feminist analysis to discuss Ramabai Espinet's The Swinging Bridge (2003), Tessa McWatt's Out of My Skin (1998), and Dionne Brand's What We All Long For (2005). Overall the novels explore the potential of art and artistic strategies to express the complex condition of diaspora, to form alliances between different cultural and ethnic communities, and to enable social and political change. While acknowledging the violent and traumatic historical factors that have contributed to diaspora, the novels look to art and hybridity as sites of resistance and hope.

Adult literacy programmes traditionally define literacy in fundamental, functional or cultural terms and prepare learners to conform to society. Community-based programmes see literacy as emancipatory, adopt a critical stance towards society and ideally use a learner-centred approach. This study sought to inform one community-based programme on more effective learner-centredness. Fourteen Caribbean immigrants participating in the programme were interviewed to investigate their concepts of literacy, motives for enrolling in, and expectations of, the programme. Results indicate that learners had limited concepts of the word "literacy," and had joined the programme because of difficulties in accessing Canadian public education. Most had completed primary school in the Caribbean and were accustomed to teacher-directed education. The study recommends that the programme increase learner-participation in decision-making and adopt a holistic approach to learning using focus groups. Also advocated is critical assessment of issues affecting learners such as language, migration and access to school.

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