The members of the Anguilla Literary Foundation were honoured to join with The House of Nehesi Publishers in St Maarten for the purpose of establishing July 12th as the official Caribbean Literature Day.
“As members of an elite franchise of Literary Festivals of the Caribbean, we are pleased to lend our support to the inaugural observation of a Day of Celebration and Commemoration of Caribbean Writers. It is important for us as Preservers of our Literary Heritage to honour those who give voice to our unique history and ensure the preservation of our stories for generations yet unborn”, says Sherille Hughes, President.
The Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification has proudly showcased Caribbean authors as a key segment of our repertoire of artistes in its Festivals presented in May over the past 9 years, since 2012. It is with great pleasure and pride that we share with the Regional Literary Fraternity some of the outstanding Caribbean literary giants who have graced the Anguilla Lit Fest’s mainstage since its inception in 2012.
The inaugural Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification featured Antiguan author, Marie Elena John, and critically acclaimed poet and author from St. Maarten, Lasana Sekou. A year later, in 2013, we welcomed Edwidge Dandicat, author of many award-winning works, including Create Dangerously and Everything Inside one of Haiti’s most-celebrated writers. In 2014, we proudly featured The Holy Piby, otherwise known as the Black Man’s Bible, written by Anguillian author Athyli Rogers. In 2015, we featured one of Antigua’s young and up-coming literary artistes, Joanne Hillhouse whose novel, The Boy from Willow Bend, is a part of the Anguillian Education Department’s reading list for First Formers. That year, we also welcomed Yasus Afari, a dynamic spoken-word artiste from Jamaica. That was also the year in which we welcomed Elizabeth Nunez of Trinidad and Tobago, an award-winning author of a number of works including Boundaries, and Not for Every-day Use, as well as Phillip Arnell, author of Fortunate Member of a Caribbean Diaspora, who is of Anguillian, Barbadian, Virgin Island and St. Maarten heritage. We also were honoured to present the works of Adrien Green, a poet and spoken-word performer, of great repute, from the island of Barbados. We also saw the publication of Anguilla’s foundational Anthology of Poems: Where I See the Sun featuring 42 poets from Anguilla, and published by House of Nehesi Publishing. 2016 was the year in which we featured Paul Keens-Douglas of Trinidad and Tobago, one of the Caribbean’s leading Lyricists, short story writers and spoken-word performers. Also appearing that year from Jamaica, was Colin Channer, a leading poet and author of works including The Girl with the Golden Shoes and Iron Ballons, and co-founder of the world-renown Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica. In 2017, we proudly presented from the Virgin Islands Tiphanie Yanique, a poet, short-story writer and children’s book author, whose titles include Wife and Land of Love and Drowning. In 2018, we featured from the British Virgin Islands, Patricia G. Turnbull who authored the children’s book Ti Ko-ko and Kush-kush. In 2019 our invitees included Rey N. the author of psychological thrillers such as Ginger Head who is of Anguillian heritage, as well as N.C. Marks author of Plastered in Pretty from the island of St. Vincent.
For more on these outstanding authors, their published works and where to find them, visit our website at www.anguillalitfest.com. And do plan to join us in Anguilla in May 2021 for the 10th anniversary of Anguilla LitFest: A Literary Jollification, when we will feature more of your favorite Caribbean authors, poets and spoken-word performers.
- Press Release
