Dr. Althea Prince is a celebrated author whose work delves into the lives of African Caribbean communities in metropolitan settings. Known for her essays and fiction, her writing is characterized by a profound understanding of social dynamics. Prince brings her academic background in sociology, focusing on African Caribbean diasporas, to her narratives. Her literary contribution lies in her insightful exploration of cultural identity and lived experiences within a global context.
In a mix of short fiction, poetry, dub poetry, and hip hop, some of Black Canada’s foremost writers from across generations explore history, community, love, and healing. The collection consists of writing from Catherine Bain, George Elliott Clarke, Gayle Gonsalves, Joanne C. Hillhouse, Clifton Joseph, Dwayne Morgan, Motion, Jelani Nias (J-Wyze), Djanet Sears, Mansa Trotman, and the editor, Althea Prince.
Ladies of the Night is set in Toronto and Antigua. With women's loves and lives as their focus, the stories contain dramatic twists and turns: some humorous, others shocking and disturbing, all leaving a haunting melody behind. The Toronto stories capture the issues women face as they walk the ground of intimate and family relationships in that city. The Antiguan setting of some of the stories are reflective of Prince's insight into relationships, captured in her novel and essays. The characters reveal their different ways of managing a range of struggle, pain, rage, love and pure unadulterated joy. The humour of some stories complement the plaintive sadness and emotionality of the strings some other stories pluck.
Dr. Althea Prince follows up her earlier collection of essays (Being Black) on Black cultural life with this important new collection. This book sensitively charts Black women's journeys with their hair: how it is perceived, judged, and graded on the yardstick of mainstream society's standards of beauty. Relying on the tradition of the personal essay, and conversations with several Black women, Prince delves into "the politics of Black women's hair," specifically examining the impact on the emotional lives of Black girls and women. Incorporating her own voice as a mother and a sociologist, and memories of her own childhood experiences with her hair, Prince provides an understanding of how some Black women use rituals surrounding hair to create positive bonds with their daughters. She suggests that something beautiful can be nourished in the realm of Spirit between a woman and her daughter when they sit in quiet to attend to hair combing and hair grooming. Including interviews with women from Canada, the Caribbean, England, the United States of America, and South America, Dr. Prince brings an international perspective to this very personal subject.