Fresh Milk has established the COLLEEN LEWIS READING ROOM (CLRR) as a space where people can read, think, discuss, contemplate and write critically
Click HERE to view our current collection
About the Colleen Lewis Reading Room Collection
Colleen Heather Lewis (nee Shaw) was born on July 12th 1962 in Canada. She died in Barbados on September 6th 2006. Many of the books in this reading room have come from Colleen’s own collection of books which she acquired while doing an art history degree in Toronto and her Masters in Cultural Studies at Cave Hill, reflecting her interest in and love for the arts. The Colleen Lewis Reading Room collection has been established in her name to keep her memory alive and reflects the generosity of her spirit. The collection is freely available by appointment at FRESH MILK which is located at the Milking Parlour Studio, Walkers Dairy in St. George, Barbados.
Please note, Fresh Milk does not loan the publications for use off site, but the library is free and open to the public by appointment. To schedule a visit to the CLRR, email freshmilkbarbados@gmail.com
Fresh Milk is excited to share with you our first activation to inaugurate our Slow Reading Programme, an initiative dedicated to “building intimacy with our books while shaping a community of readers locally and across our archipelago.”
In memory of writer and art historian Colleen Lewis — whose collection of publications dedicated to Caribbean literature, history and contemporary art form the foundation of the Fresh Milk reading room — this programme invites you to form a bridge that cuts through the noise of our current media landscape in order to engage deeply with the Caribbean literary landscape.
Programme #1 – Reflecting on the Lucayan Archipelago Residency
From September to November of 2024, Poinciana Paper Press became home to the first participants of the Lucayan Archipelago Residency in The Bahamas, with the support of the Panta Rhea Foundation.
Barbadian writer Ark Ramsay joined forces with book artist Joko Viruet Feliciano from Puerto Rico to create a collaborative work that develops a critical cultural dialogue with the Bahamian ecosystems and resources.
“Un Santo a la Vez/A Prayer in Motion” is the result of this inter-island encounter, materialised in a carefully hand-bound book conceptualised and crafted by Joko which houses Ark’s written reflections, and masterfully put together under the guidance of Sonia Farmer, founder of PPP.
To bring the nuances and depth of this work into view, Fresh Milk invited established Trinidadian poet, arts reporter and book blogger Shivanee Ramlochan to connect with Ark in an organically meandering conversation of like-hearted souls. We have the privilege of sharing the recording of this exchange with a public audience, inviting you to join in the thoughtful contemplation of the pressing issues that our region collectively confronts.
Joko joins in the reflective process asynchronously, sharing audio recordings and images that guide us through the residency experience from her perspective.
fresh milk barbados 
I knew Colleen when she first came to Toronto and over the years lost track of her, though she was never far from my heart. Please let me know how to donate books to the library from Canada in her memory. She as a truly wonderful woman. Gael Gilbert
This is an excellent memorial to a beautiful human being. Colleen and I were classmates in the Cultural Studies Graduate Programme. We even had group meetings in her lovely home. Very generous and genuinely caring person. A lover of the arts and all things cultural. She would be pleased about this initiative…
I am attempting to collect art books from the Waterloo Rotary Club members, and once I have enough, will ship them down. Colleen will forever be in my heart.