NGC President: More local literature needed in schools

Speaking at the launch of NGC’s Bocas Literature Festival at the Tradewinds Hotel in San Fernando on Saturday, Loquan spoke about the importance of local and regional literature and pressed for greater visibility of the art form which he said, has been gaining more international acclaim over the last few years.

Loquan said, “There is a clear appetite for Caribbean literature.

The Caribbean collective has such a textured history, such cultural wealth that feeds compelling themes and complex characters. Why not relish in the cadence of our language and the riotous colours of our landscapes set in rich prose and poetry? For instance, why don’t we push for more local and regional titles to be read in schools?” Loquan praised Bocas founder Marina Salandy Brown and her team of less than six people for their task in organising the festival each year and contributing to the resurgence of Caribbean literature, both locally and internationally.

He said,”What Bocas has done is uncover treasures that may have otherwise idled in anonymity. I am certain that in the years to come, as the festival expands its audience, we will see more phenomena in the region, not simply because it inspires people to write, but because people who have written are stepping forward, finding an avenue for exposure in the Bocas Lit Fest.” The event also celebrated a year of achievement in Caribbean literature.

Writers Vahni Capildeo, winner of this year’s Forward Prize for poetry, and Danielle Boodoo- Fortune, winner of the Wasafari New Writing Prize for poetry, were in attendance alongside former Commonwealth Short Story Prize co-winner, Sharon Millar and local literature legend Michael Anthony. This year, Bocas has partnered with the Miami Book Fair international, the largest literature festival in North America, and will be sending 11 Caribbean writers to participate in the Fair’s new programme “Read Caribbean.”