“You can write. Keep at it.”
Austin “Tom” Clarke, the celebrated Barbadian novelist whose work has captured a long list of literary awards in North America and elsewhere, including the Commonwealth Prize and the Giller, Canada’s most prestigious accolade given to writers of fiction, offered those special words of advice to a Bajan friend in Brooklyn, Austin Yearwood, several years ago. That was before Yearwood was a gold medal winner at the National Independence Festival Of Creative Awards for his literary work.
“I haven’t forgotten Austin’s advice and I have kept at it,” Yearwood said on a recent summer evening in Forest Hills in Queens, New York, where Barbados’ Consul-General Lennox Price lives.
“I owe him a debt of gratitude.”
The storyteller was reflecting on his literary travels, if you will, a few minutes after reading a short story at an annual event on the Bajan cultural calendar in the city, An Evening With The Griots, which was introduced to the Bajan community there almost a decade ago to give aspiring Bajan writers – poets, novelists, short story writers, academicians and commentators – a chance to shine by reading excerpts from their published works in an open-air setting and to an appreciative audience familiar with the nuances of Bajan life.
“We reached back to an old West African tradition of using poetry, praise song and other barbs to emphasize the oral tradition,” said Jessica Odle-Baril, a former consul-general in New York and the original chief promoter of the event.
Price, who has continued The Griots experience with enthusiasm, agreed.
“It means quite a lot to the writers and to the audience,” he said.
A griot is an African historian, storyteller, poet and musician whose devastating wit and musical ability passes on cultural heritage from one generation to the next.
The role of the griots dates back to the 14th century Mali empire in Africa and today they can be found in Chad, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso, northern Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and The Gambia as well as in such American urban centres as New York and Los Angeles.
“This is a perfect setting for storytelling,” said Yearwood, who has won the Governor General’s Award for his short story The Supremes Are Coming, which he read at the recent session. He also captured the Prime Minister’s Award in the Frank Collymore Endowment Award competition for his novel Imelda.
Kevin Miller, whose hidden talent for writing poetry and short stories first blossomed five years ago, was another griot whose Illegal Alien and Open Your Eyes grabbed the attention of the scores of Bajans in the audience. Miller, who holds an electrical engineering degree, performs at universities, libraries and various fund-raising events. He has written two books.
Experiences of abuse
Next was evangelist Jenny Small, a mother of two daughters. A motivational speaker who has written about the perils of domestic violence, she read passages of her memoir detailing her experience at the hands of an abusive partner. The author of Yesterday I Died has also written An Atrocious Sin, the story about domestic violence.
Samantha Inniss, an artist, dancer and stage performer who has appeared in productions on Long Island and New York City, is a trained social worker who writes poetry. She read some of her creations.
Keisha Esprit, a member of the International Society of Poets, has written and published collections of poetry and children’s books. A graduate of South Carolina State University, the Bajan holds a Master’s degree in transportation. She read from Dreams, one of her anthologies.
Others on the programme were:
• Kathy Ann Elliott, a passionate opponent of domestic violence, who has written books on marriage, separation and divorce and Cheers To Your Success! Women On The Rise.
• Katheam Woodroffe, who grew up in Goodland, St Michael, and was a banker until 2008 when the financial crisis hit with devastating impact, costing her a middle-level management position at a local bank. She writes poetry.
• Christopher Grant, an equities trader in New York who has followed the unusual path of a man writing from a “female’s perspective”.
“I grew up in a household that was dominated by strong female influences,” he said. “My mother and three aunts, each with her own unique temperament and assortment of quirks, had a profound effect on me as a child.”
• Harriet Mayers, whose first poem Holding On To A Dream was published in Christian journal, a publication in Kentucky. She has also written The Sands Of Time and Twilight Kiss.
