The Author:
Michael Morrissey
First work of fiction
Michael Morrissey is a senior education advisor, professor, and author. He gained Master’s degrees in Caribbean Geography and Education at the University of the West Indies, later teaching at this institution for 25 years. His prior published work focused on materials for Caribbean school students and readers on various facets of education.
It was while on a long consultancy assignment in 2006 that his research on Asia Pacific-Caribbean links began. This eventually focused on Tahiti and Timor’s botanical contribution to the West Indian islands.
He wrote Breadfruit Stories (2021) and the story for the award-winning film, Sweet Yellow Heart (2022) while completing his first work of non-fiction, Finnegan – a historical novel of Tahiti and Jamaica, inspired by a real-life character who accompanied Captain Bligh to Jamaica on his breadfruit mission in 1792.
Author Q&A
Finnegan is Michael’s first venture into fiction, after several decades of writing non-fiction. We asked him a few questions about how he came to write a novel and why it had to be about breadfruit. He answered all our questions – but without giving too much away about the story itself.
Trees that Feed Foundation
The idea of a novel evolved out of the author’s support for a foundation that was established in 2010 by a fellow student from their university days in Jamaica, Mary MacLaughlin. She set up, with her husband Mike McLoughlin, the Trees that Feeds Foundation. It advocates for the revival of breadfruit as a food crop and provides plant stock and technical assistance for establishing breadfruit orchards. The author’s contribution was small – documenting the arrival of suckers in the West Indies in 1793. But the mission of TTFF is global.
A lifelong
educator
Michael’s career has been in Education, which includes his recent focus on breadfruit. His degrees in Education, Geography, History and International Politics took him into the new Social Studies field in the Caribbean, as an instructor, curriculum developer and textbook writer. His contributions at national and Caribbean regional levels led him eventually to educational planning, project design/implementation and monitoring/evaluation for many countries in the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Michael continues to provide technical services to Qatar’s global programme for out-of-school children. His professional summary is posted on LinkedIn
Works of
non-fiction
Michael’s earlier work includes:
(i) textbooks for primary and secondary students of the Caribbean.
(ii) atlases for Caribbean schools. (iii) scholarly tomes.
- Click here for Michael’s School textbooks and atlases
- Click here for Michael’s scholarly work
Sweet Yellow Heart:
A Short Film About Breadfruit
The first short movie where breadfruit is front and centre was conceived by Michael in collaboration with his son, Alex. Michael wrote the story on which the film was based; Alex produced it. It was released in mid-2022. Click here for the website
Alex was interviewed by the magazine Jamaican Eats on how the movie came about. Click Here for the Interview
The movie, a tad under 30 minutes viewing time has received international recognition in the short film category. Here is a list of awards it has been given in its first six months. Click Here for International Recognition.
The Research
Michael’s research on the history of the breadfruit tree’s journey from Tahiti to the West Indies was disseminated through more than fifty stories posted on Facebook. The Trees That Fees Foundation turned these posts into a coffee table hardback in 2021. JamaicanEats interviewed Michael on how this came about in 2022. Click here for the interview.
Your copy of Breadfruit Stories can be purchased on Amazon. Click here to Purchase
You can read three sample stories from the book. The first is about the link between breadfruit trees and the world’s first surfboards. The second explains how a Papal Doctrine gave the British moral authority for their demands of Tahitians. The third shows how contemporary Barbadian artists embrace breadfruit in their paintings. Click here for the three sample stories