In a World of Their Own

Co-editing of a book of Maria Nunes’ Carnival photographs

Over the past decade, photographer Maria Nunes has been documenting the people who fight to uphold an ethos of Carnival in which creating and performing while paying homage to tradition is central. I’d been following Maria’s increased visibility as she started sharing those images on social media a few years ago (to an overwhelmingly positive response), so, when she came to Robert & Christopher Publishers in 2017 to ask about publishing a book of her work, we quickly said yes.*

We edited thousands upon thousands of images down to a few hundred, using the Carnival calendar and specific places of significance as a way of sequencing the book. Maria is also a historian, so we also edited excerpts of interviews she’d had with key Carnival figures over the years. We commissioned Shivanee Ramlochan to write what turned out to be a beautifully lyrical essay and, as usual, Mariel and I worked with Richard Mark Rawlins who brought the content to life through bold use of colour, typography, and dynamic page layouts – he even went so far as to create a delightful and beloved drawing that opens the book and maps out Maria’s world. The end result, In a World of Their Own: Carnival Dreamers & Makers, Photographs by Maria Nunes, is 216 pages featuring Maria’s stunning and sensitively made colour and black and white photographs from her unique perspective inside Trinidad Carnival.

SUMMARY | Role: Co-Editor (with Mariel Brown)
Designer: Richard Mark Rawlins. Essay: Shivanee Ramlochan
Featuring excerpts of interviews conducted with: Adrian Young, Alan Vaughan, Anderson Patrick, Darlington ‘Boysie’ Henry, Desmond Noel, Etienne Charles, Kemoi Harper, Lionel Jagessar Senior, Narcenio ‘Señor’ Gomez, Narrie Approo, Ronald Alfred, Shynel Brizan, Steffano Marcano, Stephanie Kanhai, Tekel ‘Salti’ Sylvan, Tracey Sankar-Charleau, and Wendell Manwarren.
Published: 2018, Robert & Christopher Publishers

* (Maria was also a teacher of mine back in secondary school, so I got a kick out of the whole thing.)