THE PROJECT

Stories Make the Place: Environment, Memory, and Food in Nevis Vision Magazine

At its core the project is an homage to a place that has shaped both my personal and academic life. While studying magazine journalism at Syracuse University I began to notice that there was a lack of long-form journalism about Nevis that accurately reflected the social, economic, and cultural complexities of the island. I felt this gap in nuanced storytelling was not only doing a disservice to the island as a place, but the stories failed to highlight Nevisians. As a geography student, I also became fascinated about how a singular place could serve as the basis for many different types of stories. I knew the best stories about the significance of Nevis today should come from the people that know the island best.

That’s where the idea for Nevis Vision began.

Drawing on my interdisciplinary academic background, this project weaves together a variety of perspectives from Nevisians and long-term residents by integrating geographic thinking about place and belonging with magazine writing. Each of the three main stories in this project focus on an important facet of life on Nevis: environment, food, and culture. Each story is written in a different tone and style, yet cohesively they all reflect how Nevis as a place has shaped the lives of the people who live here. To tell these stories I traveled to Nevis for a month from December 2021 to January 2022 to conduct both informal and formal interviews with people.

Ultimately, this project allowed me to combine my passion for writing about the world around me with my deep personal connection to Nevis to show how stories make the place.

Acknowledgements

Most importantly to the people of Nevis: thank you. Thank you for serving as a constant source of inspiration for this body of work. Thank you for opening your arms and doors to provide me an inside look at Nevisian culture. Thank you for believing in the ethos of my project and sharing it with others throughout my research journey. Thank you for asking me questions that challenged the way I looked at situations. Thank you to countless individuals for taking the time and care to tell me your personal stories. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to tell your stories in return. I will forever be grateful for my deep connection to this island and to you all.