Great Bay:--- A book party for St. Martin Talk by Robert Romney will be held at the University of St. Martin (USM) on Tuesday, June 14, at 7:30 PM, said House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).However, it was not the publisher of the new book that came up with the book party idea so quickly after the just-concluded St. Martin Book Fair.
"The demand and questions from so many people about where to buy St. Martin Talk by Romney, Yvette's cookbook, and White Egrets by Derek Walcott, are amazing," said Shujah Reiph, book fair coordinator.
"We never got so many calls, and questions on the road, after a book fair, from people wanting books connected to our invited authors. And people can see for themselves the chatter about the two St. Martin books on Facebook," said Reiph.
The entire pre-order of St. Martin Talk sold out in less than 30 minutes after the book fair's ribbon-cutting on June 2, leaving guests asking how to get their own copy of the book, said Reiph.
The bulk of the books arrived here this week and Romney will be at the June 14 book party to present and autograph his book, said HNP president Jacqueline Sample.
"Everyone is welcome to this book party, it's a cultural treat" said Sample.St. Martin Talk is a handbook of "words, phrases, sayings and general communication terms that are normal or traditional to the St. Martin way of speaking," said Sample. "The book party is a chance to collect St. Martin Talk on Tuesday."
According to educator Marcellia Henry, "St. Martin Talk is a resource on the journey of St. Martin's ever evolving culture."
Romney compiled and wrote the book during his 2007-2010 tenure in Marigot, as representative of the Rector of the Academy of Guadeloupe for the collectivities of St. Martin and St. Barth's.
St. Martin Talk was featured at the opening ceremony of the 9th annual St. Martin Book Fair. Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott was the book fair's keynote speaker. His new book also arrived this week because of shipping glitches late last week, said Reiph. Yvette's cookbook was the main book launched at the book fair and is in bookstores.
From Yvette's Kitchen To Your Table by Yvette Hyman, founder of Yvette's Restaurant, and Walcott's White Egrets will be available at the book party on Tuesday.
The first 10 people arriving at the book party on June 14 will get a free copy of the new Yvette's cookbook poster, said Sample. The cooking heritage poster is a book fair promotion and cultural education feature from the Book Fair Committee (BFC) and HNP.