Monique Roffey
Monique Roffey
Monique Roffeyis an award-winning Trinidadian-born British writer and memoirist...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionWriter
curse drive forgetting might monologue muse people worst
I talk to myself. It's my worst habit. I often muse aloud, or, when people drive me crazy, I curse them aloud. I might do a ranting monologue about how pissed off I am about them, occasionally forgetting that they might still be in the room; now, that's weird!
dominant men monogamy pair period time women
Long-term heterosexual monogamy is still the dominant model: men and women still want to pair for a long period of time.
books explore figure good means
All my books explore fatherhood. I look at what it means to have a big father figure at the centre: sometimes they're a good father, sometimes bad.
observant wild
I was an observant but dreamy child. I had a lazy eye and wild curls.
affinity born caribbean great natural pools sink swim swimmer swimming thrown warm
Born on an island, I could swim before I could walk, thrown many times into swimming pools and warm transparent Caribbean waters: sink or swim, that was my first lesson. While I'm not a natural athlete, I'm still a strong swimmer and feel a great affinity with the sea.
forms full hear love lyrical people playful poetic speaking verbal
Trinidadians love speaking their own English; it's full of poetic forms and can be playful and lyrical and comical. Trinidadians are verbal acrobats, and I love being on the island just to hear the people speak.
common fusion local people sound suck teeth
Trinidad's language is a fusion of English, African, and French, and so we have our own words and even our own dictionary. Steupse is a common local word, and it's the onomatopoeic word for the sound people make to show disapproval, or to show they are vexed, when they suck their teeth together.
dalai destroyed imperative love
The person I love most is the Dalai Lama. China destroyed his country, yet he says that it's imperative we show love for the Chinese.
dynamism exciting knew love
What I always knew about my parents was that they were in love, and this love had a fizz. It was exciting to be their child, to be around them. There was a dynamism between them, a charge.