Her Majesty’s Prison in collaboration with the Malliouhana Poetry Competition Committee, represented by Ms. Carla Harris of the Anguilla Community College, Ms. Avon Carty of the Department of Youth and Culture, and Ms. Jansie Webster of the Anguilla Library Service, was pleased to host a special award ceremony for Mr. Claushaun Richardson, the winner of the 2018 “On the Page” Poetry competition in the Seniors category.
Ms. Carla Harris shared with the audience of inmates, HMP staff and other invited guests, a brief history of the Malliouhana Poetry Competition which was launched in 2007 to encourage literacy and the artistic expression. The original committee was made up of Jansie Webster and Jane Grell of the Anguilla Library Service; the late Linda Lake of The Department of Youth and Culture and herself, Carla Harris of the University of the West Indies(UWI) Open Campus. Since then, Ms. Harris has been employed by the Anguilla Community College which has now become a part of the competition – and Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks represents the UWI Open Campus. Ms. Harris shared that the genre of poetry was chosen because the form allows the writer to say much, often in a condensed form. In addition, poetry can be brought off the page and performed allowing the poet the opportunity to insert more of him or herself through the use of body language. The competition therefore now consists of ‘On the Page’ written word and spoken word ‘Performance’ categories for both children and adults.
Ms. Avon Carty congratulated the poets being recognized at the ceremony. She recognized Mr. Delano Smith as having participated in the competition for several years and who, along with Mr. Richardson, contributed poetry to the Department of Youth and Culture’s 2018 calendar. She was pleased to learn that in addition to Mr. Richardson and Mr. Smith, there were other members of the audience who were among those published in “Where I See the Sun,” an anthology of poems by Anguillian poets which was edited by Lasana M. Sekou in 2016. Ms. Carty encouraged those who had not yet tried, to release the poet within. She expressed the belief that there is a poet in each of us and what is required is the courage to share what we write with others.
Mr. Richardson performed his ‘on the page’ poem to the delight of the audience. In his words of appreciation, he gave thanks to God for his gift of writing and made special mention of prison tutor, Ms. Ingrid Fullington, who coordinates the writing process at HM Prison, as well as the management of HMP for allowing himself and others the opportunity to participate in the competition.
Ms. Fullington, reflecting on the contributions of inmates for the past four years of the competition, said how pleased she was that her students had the benefit of participating in classes and workshops to enhance their writing skills. Thus they were able to successfully demonstrate, not just their willingness to bare themselves, but a high standard of artistic talent which has caused the wider literary community to take notice. She extended hearty congratulations to Mr. Richardson and deep appreciation to HMP management for making it all possible.
The following is Claushaun Richardson’s poem:
Brothers
You are my brother
Albeit from another mother.
If I eat, you eat, if I drink, you drink.
You always have a seat at my table And if you were in need of a helping hand, I am not a selfish man I am always here to aid you.
But you allowed yourself to be blinded by other people you were aligned with You allowed that constellation to cause our separation.
Because of their high status they gained your veneration.
I gave you ten dollars, one of them gave you a hundred And in your mind that put them in a league I was not.
But he had a thousand …….. 10 dollars was all I got.
I was living beyond dreams. You were living beyond means.
Which made you move out and buy a new house that was upscale Placing burdens on yourself you couldn’t hold up well Your relation in the constellation was dependent on what you had Which had you in the fashion houses popping tags
You even took a loan to buy a Jag…..
But circumstances are the climate of our reality
And the winds of vanity brought clouds of calamity.
The rains of consequences dampened your ego, which was momentous, And as the sun of opulence vanished and the darkness of tribulation set in
As your star dwindled, your so called ‘friends’ disappeared.
There was no room in their constellation for you to fit in…
You no longer had the objects which mattered to them And they changed up on you with the change in the winds.
But in your darkest hour I showed up because of who you are to me
Even though you were foolish,
For me to turn my back on you was hard to me
I endured the darkness with you because I believe in your brighter day…
And if it’s anyone that can survive it’s you,
I know you can find a way.
Whether rain, snow or sunshine, good or bad times
No matter what the trouble, I’ll be there in all forms
Because we, my brother, are neighbors beyond the storms.
Claushaun Richardson
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
