I’m Adele Jarrett-Kerr, formerly Adele Camps. Circus Queen tells my story as mother, migrant and writer.
I moved to England seven years ago to study (I hold a Masters degree that I only use to get abusive with 17th-century documentaries) and stayed because I’d met my husband, Laurence, who is British (though he’s insistent about his Jamaican roots).
Before that, I’d lived in Trinidad in the Caribbean all my life. People always ask me why I’m here when I could be there. I used to balk at the question mainly because I’d felt claustrophobic on a small island.
Now I’ve lived here long enough to become both disillusioned with and genuinely affectionate towards both countries. I like to think this is reflected in my confused accent.
We moved from Brighton to Bristol two years ago and had a baby. I used to call her “the creature” but now that she’s here she’s just Talitha (“tah-LEE-tha”). She inhabits a lot of my mental and, well, physical, space so Circus Queen is mainly about life with her.
Images: Laurence Jarrett-Kerr
Unattributed photographs on Circus Queen are mine.
