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Posts tagged with: Saint Croix
Sekou keynote speaker at V.I. Writers Association first conference
Great Bay, St. Martin (April 1, 2014) — St. Martin author Lasana M. Sekou was the keynote speaker at the first conference of the Virgin Islands Writers Association (VIWA) held in St. Croix on Monday, March 31, 2014, said VIWA principal Valerie Combie.
“One major concern of our writers is to get their work published. The committee thought that Mr. Sekou could enlighten us on the process by describing some of the challenges a writer may encounter, especially a writer in the Caribbean,” said Combie, who is an associate professor of English at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI).
During his presentation Sekou pointed out challenges writers may face during the writing process and in preparing their manuscript for an agent or publisher to consider or review for publication. He also gave tips on tackling these challenges.
Sekou was also asked to “tell us about the possibility of having our work published by House of Nehesi Publishers,” said Combie. Sekou is the projects director at House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).
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| Valerie Combie, UVI associate professor, organizer of the Virgin Islands Writers Association Conference |
Mostly VI writers from St. Croix attended the one-day conference where about 10 writers read from their book or manuscript. One high school drama group performed three monologues. The conference started at 8 AM and concluded at 3 PM. UVI dean Dr. Simon Jones-Hendrikson, folklorist Wayne “Bully” Peterson, Annette Michael, Dr. Frank Mills, doctoral student Brianna J. Grantham, Dr. David Gould, and high school student Victoria Smith, were among the readers.
Sekou’s 50-minute presentation included a question-and-answer period and a reading from the French Quarter cockfight story is his book Brotherhood of The Spurs. He also promoted the upcoming 12th annual St. Martin Book Fair among conference participants.
The theme of the writers conference was “The Faces of V.I. Writers” – organized in collaboration with the Virgin Islands Writing Project and UVI.
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The Rich Culture of the Virgin Islands
Mention the word “Bamboula” and few Virgin Islanders today will know what you’re talking about. We once did. The Bamboula was an African-derived dance, music and drumming tradition that flourished in the Virgin Islands prior to the 20th century; it is cousin to the “Bomba”, an African-inspired folkloric tradition that still thrives in Puerto Rico.
This tradition “can be traced” to the Congo River region of Africa writes Margot Lieth-Phillip, Ph.D, in the preface of Zoop, Zoop, Zoop: Traditional Music and folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. Some researchers speculate the Bamboula might have also made its way to New Orleans.
But the Bamboula was not merely a form of entertainment. In the book Old Time Masquerading in the Virgin Islands by Robert Nichols, a local Virgin Islander named Chas Emmanuel says: “the bamboula functioned as the eyes and the ears of the society and served both as a local tabloid and scandal sheet rolled into one.”
What became of this art form? Nichols says “strong social pressure” from the colonial establishment led to the decline of the Bamboula as a folkloric expression.
In the following video listen and watch the dance, as these women talk about the history of Bamboula and its role in the struggle for freedom and equality throughout Caribbean. Learn how they keep the Bamboula tradition going, proud to be not only an American but an American Virgin-Islander.
[from Colors, November 2013]
Maan boven St. Croix
‘Bis’ Hagensen bracht haar eerste levensjaren door op de voormalige Deense West-Indische eilanden. Haar vader, boekhouder van de West-Indische Compagnie, wordt in een decembernacht dood op het strand van St. Croix gevonden: moord of zelfmoord? Ook na terugkeer in Kopenhagen blijft Bis de tragische gebeurtenis in haar (onder)bewustzijn met zich meedragen. Als jonge lerares grijpt zij gretig de mogelijkheid aan om voor haar scriptie over de slavenopstand van 1759 ter plaatse onderzoek te doen en meer over de mysterieuze dood van haar vader te weten te komen. De eigenzinnige maar chaotische Bis wordt op de in 1917 aan de VS verkochte eilanden geconfronteerd met economische en menselijke afhankelijkheid. De maan boven St. Croix geeft de onthutsende waarheid niet zomaar prijs. Kunstig weet de auteur fictie en historisch materiaal tot een goed verhaal vol spanning, psychologie, gepast sarcasme en tropische hitte te vervlechten! Deze in Denemarken zeer succesvolle roman voor een breed publiek is goed vertaald en tevens een van de weinige boeken in het Nederlands met (een deel van) de geschiedenis van deze voormalige Deense kolonie. Normale druk, ruime marges.
Auteur: Karel Lund
Titel: Maan boven St. Croix
Paperback 315 pagina’s
Uitgeverij De Fontein
[van NBD|Biblion]
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