Dorine O'garro

Montserrat on My Mind: Tales of Montserrat Dorine O'garro

Two-thirds of Montserrat,the author's homeland, has been devastated by continuous eruptions of theSoufriere Hills volcanoes.¿ Montserratis a small Island of the Leeward Islandsof the Caribbean, just forty square miles, but it hasseven active volcanoes. In Montserrat on My Mind, the author has included several storiesof Montserrat before the eruptions, and some during thecrisis.¿ Some stories have a tint ofmystery, others a touch of Montserrat's humor, but all generallytell tales of Montserrat with a Caribbeanflavor.¿ There are three poems whichrelate to the volcano and the author's prayerful hope that Montserrat will riseagain from the tons of magma that have buried so many of its picturesquevillages, including its capital, the once thriving Plymouth.¿ The author's Village, Kinsale, exists nomore. Unfortunately, Montserratwas almost anonymous before its volcanic eruptions.¿ Now, it is an open laboratory forvolcanologists, a vacation haven for videographers, and curiosity seekers.¿ They know Montserratas a gray land drooping under the weight of pyroclastic flow, but the authorremembers it as The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, wherethe serrated mountains stood like green giants in the Caribbeanscenery.