The Prietopunk anthology: caribbean afrofuturism at its limits

Abstract

This article aims to critically examine the Caribbean Afrofuturist science fiction anthology Prietopunk, published in 2022 thanks to the text compilation efforts of Dominican writer Aníbal Hernández Medina. First, this study provides an overview of Caribbean Afrofuturist trends over the past decade, also in relation to U.S. production. Second, it seeks to identify the “major” tendencies within Caribbean Afrofuturist literature, both in the texts included in the anthology and in the broader literary output. Finally, it reflects on the concepts of the Anthropocene, apocalypse, and the posthuman, which, based on these initial studies, we consider central to Caribbean Afrofuturist production. Drawing on critical tools related to this version of science fiction, posthuman studies, and the cultural elements of the region, this article seeks to map the Caribbean apocalyptic imaginary in relation to the Antillean debate on identity and Afro-descendant cultural presence.