A budding Anguillian author, Ms Denise Crawford, may be a trend blazer for persons in the various communities to try their hand at writing in book form, or story-telling, about the cultural life and experiences in their particular villages.
Laughing excessively and winning the involvement of her listeners, Ms Crawford launched her new book entitled Island Harbour Village on Thursday, November 5, at the Anguilla Public Library. It is her second book, the first being Leaving Island Life which was written when she embarked on a journey to live abroad. Now that she has returned home, after some fifteen years, she may well be thinking about a third book.
Asked about her book writing at the launch ceremony, Ms Crawford replied: “I want to encourage people to read and I think that when people read things that relate to their life, they enjoy it and feel freer to want to read,” she said. “But one of the most important things about my travels, and coming back home throughout the years, is that I have found that a lot of traditions are just going into decline and I want to preserve them… and write them down so that the other generations can come along, pick up what I write and read it. It will help them to know how we lived before all the technology distracts everybody.”
The author was introduced by Mr Timothy Hodge, a resident of Island Harbour, who chaired the launch ceremony and read portions of the book about Island Harbour Village.
“She was born and brought up in Anguilla at Island Harbour Village,” he stated. “From an early age, Denise was passionate about travelling and, on finishing high school, she set out on a journey to explore and learn about other cultures which inspired her to write her true life story… and cultural experience. She lived in St Thomas, America, England and visited many other countries. She has a Diploma in Psychology and Support Teaching. She travels regularly to North Africa where she volunteers in charities for under-privileged children.
“For fifteen years, Denise worked in the customer service industry and is now working and volunteering as a support teacher and mentor. She has now written her second book Island Harbour Village, which is about her village, my village and the village of several of us here, our grandparents’ village and Denise has told the story.”
The author, who also read from one of her chapters on the cultural life of Island Harbour, was commended for her work by a number of persons. They included Ms Pam Webster, a resident at Island Harbour who saw the author’s books as valuable tools for heritage tourism, and historian Mr Colville Petty, who has an interest in reading and preserving writings about Anguilla.
A number of persons purchased copies of both of Ms Crawford’s books which she took pleasure in autographing.
