Developing a reading culture

In its second year the “Reading with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest” has brought that “power of the consciousness of literature to communities such as Princes Town, Charlotteville, Tobago, Scarborough, Tobago, Mayaro, Point Fortin, Sangre Grande and Arima. It is the festival’s hope that this translates into the discovery of home-grown writing talent across TT.

According to the festival’s business and hospitality manager, Marielle Forbes, “The reading with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest Programme got started because after a few of the Port-of-Spain festivals we realised that we weren’t engaging certain communities that were far away from the outskirts of PoS. In order to dispel this kind of thinking that reading cannot be for enjoyment, we are putting the idea out the window that you just read for academics and things like that.

“We wanted to engage these communities outside of PoS that we weren’t getting at the festival, in order to encourage critical reading.

“In order to encourage awareness of Caribbean authors, in order to encourage awareness of the festival and what it brings to TT and how other members of the community can benefit from it.

“We thought a good way to springboard that or start that was to build on existing bookclubs in specific communities. We targeted eight communities across TT. We partnered with Nalis and contacted the libraries.

“We felt that was the best way to start, with those who were already visiting the libraries and who had an interest in reading for leisure and other things besides academic.

That is how it got started. We used their database and we also built on their existing clubs and added new members.” Since its inception the clubs have discussed two books, the first being local author Barbara Jenkins’ Sic Transit Wagon and this year the groups are discussing Rhoda Bharath’s the Ten Days Executive.

With groups composed of people from as young as 18 to 82 and whose average size ranges from five in smaller communities to eight in larger ones, there has been tremendous growth since it began last year, Forbes said.

She noted, “I realise in going to the clubs now that the people are getting stronger, the people are asking more critical questions. They are realising certain things in the language, they are asking different questions outside of the norm, or what they would have typically asked in the beginning.

We realise they are strengthening some skills they might have had and gaining some skills.” It is also the festival’s intent to begin a writing workshop for the budding writers within the community, although funding remains an issue. “Out of these clubs, at least two members of every one of the book clubs have expressed an interest in writing. Some of them have already written stories that they have in their closet. One of the things that we hope would come out of this project or initiative is that we would start a series of writing workshops in these communities for people who have expressed an interest in writing. Once we get a few phases of the club rolling out and as we get more clubs.” The participants also learn more about the art of writing through the visits done to the clubs by the authors, where participants get the chance to engage with the author.

Forbes recalled one participant was changed by the workshop.

She said, “That question reminded me of one lady in Charlotteville; a housewife because she is a cook and takes part in all of these different festivals and stuff, Shauna. I remember we did one visit with them and by the time we came back for the second visit and she said you know what I realise I really was talking a lot of nonsense with my friends when we got together to talk. Now, basically, she said now they bore me. It is not like she said ‘now I am here and you’re there’. But she said now that she is been reading, she said, she realised she was just wasting time gossiping with these women and ‘now those things don’t interest me’. Now I just sit with my books and I read.” Everything the festival does aims to develop the skill and art of literature. Funso Aiyejina, the festival’s deputy director said, “You also have to understand that the book club is just a block in a complex organisation.

Everything we do as Bocas is designed to develop that tradition of reading. Our children’s programme encourages children to read and to write. Our adult programme brings writers from all over the world and we expose them to the community and they develop an interest in reading or continuing to read. Our spoken word programme encourages the role of oral literature so the book club is another part of the whole labyrinth of things we have put together in order to develop that consciousness of the power of literature.” And with a month of activity ongoing, Aiyejina said the question as to the viability of Caribbean literature as been answered time and time again by top awards such as Man Booker Prize, Commonwealth and the Forward Prize among others. The Caribbean’s varied historical intermingling has given it a voice that speaks to almost all people across the globe.

“When you look at the international successes of Caribbean literature, nobody can be in doubt as to the viability of Caribbean content in global literature.

We also have to understand that the Caribbean is the most cosmopolitan region of the world and when the Caribbean speaks it is speaking for the world.

“There is hardly any aspect of world civilisation that is not represented in the Caribbean.

Whether you’re talking Europe, Africa, Asia, whatever, we have writers here who can capture that essence and therefore our writers are always speaking to the world even when their primary message is for us and that is the way it should be. It always goes beyond the Caribbean to the world.

We have a lot to teach the world as Caribbean citizens,” Aiyejina said.