GREAT BAY:---- Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in Anguilla, A New Anthology Edited by Lasana M. Sekou, will be launched at Government House in Anguilla on Thursday, May 21.
Her Excellency, Ms. Christina Scott, the Governor of Anguilla, will host "the official launch of the book" at the "reception to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the 'Anguilla Lit Fest,'" according to the invitation issued by the Governor's Office. The literary festival runs from May 21-24.
Where I See The Sun has already met with bold comments from new generation poets and authors, said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP, the book's publisher.
"This is pure poetry: critical, sincere and plain. The glorious and convoluted history of small island nations sits heavily on the shoulders of so few. This may be your only chance to hear them speak like this," writes Wena Poon, award-winning Singapore-born American author.
The Guadeloupean author and hiphop artist Fola Gadet finds that the poetry of the collection is "rooted in a strong desire for real freedom." There are over 90 poems by 43 poets from the 35 sq. mi. island in the book. Most of the poets and the poems were never published before.
The anthologized poets include: John T. Harrigan, Bongo Joe, Medora, Tyrone James, Vanessa Croft Thompson, Catrina Jones, Alexis Ryan, Sharleen Gumbs, Fabian Fahie, George Hodge, Zipporah Bannister, Marvin Gumbs, Kay Ferguson, Davon Carty, Magueda Jackson, Wendell Lake, Gregory Maye, and Bankie Banx.
"Their names may ring hollow to many a literary critic or student of Caribbean Literature, (with the exception, perhaps, of the venerable Bankie Banks, a true musical legend who has stuck to his Anguilla roots through thick and thin)," wrote literary critic Fabian Adekunle Badejo in the preface to the book.
The other writers are: Mikael Mussington, Teresa Richardson, Vernon Webster, Sharon Lake, Clemvio Hodge, Jemmisa Graneau-Gumbs, Rolandito Richardson, Akeem Rogers, Amethyst Davis, Leroy Hill, Iain Bibby, Rita Celestine Carty, Cassilda Carty, Patricia Adams, Reuel Ben Lewi, Marnair, Alvin Payne, Romeine Browne, Delano Smith, Hyacinth Hughes, Akeem Rogers, Jervayne Daniel, Jason Richardson, Dollynell Best, Rennetta Lewis, and Oluwakemi Linda Banks.
The important thing about the budding and seasoned poets in Where I See The Sun "is that they now will be heard throughout the region and beyond and the story they tell, a reminder that size really doesn't matter when it comes to human experience and existence or for that matter where it concerns creative output," said Badejo.
Where I See The Sun will be available at the Anguilla Lit Fest, the 13th annual St. Martin Book Fair, IrieLife, Van Dorp, Amazon.com, SPDbooks.org, and other bookstores.
