A large number of poetry and cultural enthusiasts are expected to gather at the Anguilla Public Library, on Wednesday, 8th May at 6:00 p.m., for the 2019 Malliouhana Poetry Awards. This year’s competition is under the theme “A Climate of Courage” – and during the ceremony, the Junior and Senior participants in the Performance Poetry category will present their spoken word entries for judging.
The ceremony will also include a number of cultural items and the presentation of Certificates and Awards to the “On the Page” and “Performance” entrants. In addition, three more Anguillian cultural stalwarts – Author/Activist, Ms. Lottis Hodge; Teacher, Author, Songwriter and Poet, Mrs. Patricia Adams and Boat-Builder, Storyteller and Historian, Mr. David Carty – will be presented with the 2019 Malliouhana Poetry Culture Bearer Awards.
Hodge, Adams and Carty are the latest artistes to be honoured by the Malliouhana Poetry Committee. Other Awardees include the late Educator, Poet and Cultural Activist, Ms. Linda T. Lake; poet and revolutionary heroine, Mrs. Daisy “Wong” Richardson; Mrs. Verna Bryan; Mrs. Iona Hodge; Mrs. Olive Hodge, Ms. Carmencita Woods, Mr. Winston Harrigan, Mr. Felix Fleming, Mrs. Bernice Fahie-Richardson and Ms. Lena Gumbs.
The Malliouhana Poetry Competition is 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 annual literary event is part of the national Anguilla Day celebrations and seeks to encourage literacy and artistic expression, as well as to promote an ethos of social, cultural, and political awareness.
The Awards Ceremony on 8th May is free and open to the public and the Committee is inviting everyone to join in the celebration of the local Culture Bearers and the 2019 Malliouhana Poetry Awardees.