A large number of poetry and writing enthusiasts gathered at Sweet Blossom’s Kitchen on Thursday, 27th October for the Malliouhana Poetry Competition Committee’s first Poetry Extempo Evening. Dubbed “The Word in Any Form”, the fun-filled session was chaired by Vanburn Andy Brookes and attracted a large cross section of participants from around the island, including the members of the Anguilla Chapter of the Toastmasters Club, the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School’s Literary and Debating Society, the newly published authors of Ban-Waun Fiveae Chapter 5, the Malliouhana Poetry Competition Participants and others.
Using the extempore format, the participants had five minutes to create their presentations using catchy, current topics provided by the organisers and a maximum of two minutes for performance. Participants wowed the audience with their spontaneous creations on topics like “Lawd, what a heat”, “Fastbook, Insta Snap”, “Tis My Hair” and “Hanging Ya Hat Where Ya Hand Cyan Reach”. The topic “…And Now for the News”, evoked a variety of creations, include a touching tribute to the late Ras B and Iwandai by Kevin Thompson. Winners of the individual rounds received a variety of fun prizes, while seven-year old Aaliyah Webster-Robinson, the youngest participant, was awarded a special prize for her creativity and overall participation.
Organised by the University of the West Indies Open Campus Anguilla in collaboration with the Anguilla Library Service, the Department of Youth and Culture and the Anguilla Community College, the Malliouhana Poetry Competition seeks to encourage literacy and artistic expression, as well as to promote an ethos of social, cultural, and political awareness. The Extempo Evening is expected to help jumpstart creative writing juices in preparation for the 2017 Competition, scheduled for 3 May 2017.
