First, he was calling from his home on Deer Island, Maine, to let me
know of his latest book. Then he was headed for the Frankfurt Book Fair
in Germany to publicize that book, and it wasn’t such a great time to
talk. Then he was in transit again — on his way to Havana, where
he has a house too (in addition to homes in New York and on St. Croix).
But on his way to Cuba, I finally had a chance to catch up with Michael
Connors (who grew up in Memphis). He was in Naples — Naples,
Florida — where Connors, author of the new (and beautifully
produced) Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture
(Rizzoli), was in the middle of a morning walk. He apologized for being
a little out of breath, but he was eager to talk about Caribbean
Houses, the author’s latest look (after French Island
Elegance, Caribbean Elegance, and Cuban Elegance) at
the antiques — and architecture — of the islands.
Memphis Flyer: In Caribbean Houses, you not
only consider the decorative arts but also the architecture of
Caribbean colonial culture — a centuries-old mix of cultures.You
take in more than the furnishings to look at these townhouses and
plantation great houses as a whole. That’s a broadening of your
interests, no?
Michael Connors: I couldn’t continue to imitate myself, but
I’ll admit, it was a learning curve. I’m not as “acclimated” to
architecture as I am to the decorative arts. I enjoyed learning what I
didn’t know — the terminology of architecture — but the
decorative arts follow architecture: Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque,
Classical. I knew the periods.
The hundreds of photographs by a team of photographers in
Caribbean Houses are spectacular. You were on hand for
every shoot?
I had a number of photographers, because my main photographers
weren’t always available. When these houses open up, you can’t wait,
unless you want to take years to make a book. I’m not that way. I don’t
like waiting.
And yes, I’m there for each photograph. I look through the camera. I
know what’s in every frame. I know what I want to talk about in the
text. I know what I want to show my readers. This book tells its story
through the eye, so the photography’s extra important. And so are the
stylists who helped me out. I’m not good with flowers.
How long did it take for you to put together Caribbean
Houses?
Two years, solid. I sold my antiques gallery in New York in 2007.
I’m dedicating myself strictly to writing now, and I’ve already got
another book, English Island Elegance, ready. It should be
published a year from now.
I’m also contracted to do a book on historic Cuban houses, so I’m
living in Havana now — 21 days at a time, because that’s all the
time the country permits — and I’m really enjoying it. But in
Cuba, when it comes to historic structures, it’s often preservation by
neglect. At some point, though, neglect turns into deterioration.
You ever get back to your hometown, Memphis?
Oh yeah. My webmaster is a fellow in Memphis. I still have friends
in Memphis. And one friend, musician/producer Jim Dickinson — he
unfortunately just died. But every opportunity I get — any excuse
I can find is more like it — I’ll get down to Memphis.
You’re keen to point out in Caribbean Houses
an important fact, a fact too easily overlooked: that if it weren’t
for the laborers and their skills, these significant colonial buildings
and their furnishings wouldn’t have existed.
For centuries, those laborers have been unrecognized — unpaid
but more accurately slave labor. The indigenous Amerindians and African
West Indians were put to task to do the work. It’s time they’re
recognized, and it’s important that this patrimony be recognized as
part of their heritage too, so that they take pride. The colonial era
is as much their patrimony and their material culture as it is
anyone’s.
