Reynold’s making the Bowl go ‘round

Naparima Bowl, San Fernando remains one of the best venues where many of the world’s most famous performers go to perform for southerners. Although the venue has been earmarked for renovations, there has not been any major work done to the building for more than 25 years. However, the new manager has a plan for the Bowl.

Reynold Bassant, one of TT’s most prolific writers and cultural activist, has been able to provide service for scores of artistes who visit the Bowl on a daily basis. Bassant seems to be the most qualified person for this job and many people predict that there will be change to the Bowl now that he has taken the reins. He has spent 30 years of his life as the Chief Librarian at the Carnegie Free Library, San Fernando but Bassant is well known in  performing arts circle. He seems to be the anchor for those who are into the performing arts in South. Many would turn to him for advice and also for review of their work.

One might wonder how come a librarian connects so much to arts in San Fernando? Well it’s easy, Bassant encouraged the artistes of the southland to showcase their talent for the people who frequent the library. He used the library as a place where the playwrights, poets and story tellers are able to reach an audience one-on-one and talk about their art. “It worked in many ways. It showed the skill of the artistes who want to communicate with an audience but in a homely atmosphere filled with warmth, love and affection. It also gave the listeners an opportunity to think about the arts and develop a love for it. Cause there are many people who hear about storytelling and they get turned off thinking this is not something interesting, but when exposed to it they realise how much fun there is in listening to a story told in the company of friend and relative,” he explained.

Bassant noted that while the policy of the libraries remain to provide books for the reading public, he used the forum for a lot more. “In the beginning I went through a lot from my bosses for promoting the arts through the library, but later on they realised that my idea was generating a greater flow of youths to the library.  Despite the initial problems I had I was later complimented for my efforts,” he said. He noted that the library started celebrating all the major festivals including Carnival, Divali, Eid-ul-Fitr  and Christmas. The public was invited to  attend these functions and the library provided documents on the origin of the festivals and also on the people who were invited to participate in the cultural aspect of the festivals.

From his office at Naparima Bowl  Bassant said he was lucky to get a break with a newspaper to do feature writings about the artistes in 1974. “I was able to inform the country on the happenings of the south-based performers. It was one of the best opportunities I had to assist the many striving performers of the southland,” he said. During the 70’s and 80’s the public looked forward to learning about the arts through the pieces submitted by Reynold Bassant. He gained a reputation for his excellent writings and won many competitions. He took the first prize for poetry in the PNM’s 25th anniversary competition. Later on he won the Public Service Association’s  excellent writing contest and the National Cultural Council’s annual writing competition.

Bassant noted that it was Newsday’s the editor-in-chief, Therese Mills (who was the editor of Guardian at the time) who gave him the opportunity to publish his short story Jai on the School Bus. This gave him  a boost as the public got to view his writing from a different angle. Bassant grew up in Marcano Street, Princes Town, and his parents Joseph and Violet Bassant still live there. It was while attending Naparima Boys College that he met the playwright and dramatist James Lewah who trained him and he acted in many of Lewah’s productions.

Bassant is now working with the Ministry of Culture to make the Bowl the “sanctuary of the performing arts in south Trinidad”. Just like he did with the library, Bassant is now working feverishly to give the artistes the opportunity to showcase their talent for the schools and other institutions. “I believe if those who are painters, writers and musicians can come and spend an entire week at the Bowl, then the schools and other institutions can come in and see what the artistes have to offer by paying a small fee of $1, he said. Through a government scholarship he was able to attain a BA in English language, history and sociology. He also holds a Masters in Library and Information Science and a diploma in public relations and human resource personnel management. Bassant and his wife Dawn have a two-month-old baby, Justine Amanda. He has two other children from a previous marriage,  son Mark lives in Canada and daughter Candice lives here.