NGC Bocas Lit Fest

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest is the Trinidad and Tobago literary festival that takes place annually during the last weekend of April in Port of Spain. Inaugurated in 2011,[1] it is the first major literary festival in the southern Caribbean[2] and largest literary festival in the Anglophone Caribbean.[3][4][5] A registered non-profit company, the festival has as its title sponsor the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).[6] Other sponsors and partners include First Citizens Bank, One Caribbean Media (OCM), who sponsor the associated OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, CODE (sponsors of the Burt Award), and the Commonwealth Foundation.[7][8]

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest also works in collaboration with other international festivals and initiatives, and has hosted events showcasing Caribbean writing talent in New York,[9] at the Brooklyn Book Fair,[10][11] the Harlem Book Fair[12][13] and elsewhere in the US. In 2012, Bocas partnered with the Edinburgh World Writers Conference (EWWC) as part of a lineup of 14 countries delivering a multinational series of talks marking the 50th anniversary of the five-day meeting of "an impressive, sensational and sometimes scandalous group of writers" at the first Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama.[14]

Background

The Bocas Lit Fest organising team comprises Marina Salandy-Brown, founder and director; programme director Nicholas Laughlin,[15] editor of the Caribbean Review of Books and of Caribbean Beat; Funso Aiyejina, prize-winning author and dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine; Marjorie Thorpe, former professor of literature at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, independent bookseller Joan Dayal of Paper Based Bookshop;[16][17] Danielle Delon, editor of The Letters of Margaret Mann; local businesswoman Lucita Esau; and Patrice Matthews, a marketing and media professional.[18]

The festival's name derives from the Spanish word for mouth, “boca” – the organ of speech and song and storytelling – while also referencing the Bocas del Dragón (the Dragon's Mouths), which are the narrow straits off Trinidad’s north-west peninsula that connect the Gulf of Paria to the Caribbean Sea. For centuries, the Bocas were the gateways connecting Trinidad to the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

The festival's strapline is: "Celebrating books, writers, and writing from the Caribbean and the rest of the world".

The main venues are the National Library (NALIS)[19] and the Old Fire Station, in downtown Port of Spain.[20]

There is also a full programme of activities for young readers, sponsored by KFC, and in the run-up to the festival storytelling events take place in Tobago, Couva, Chaguanas, San Fernando, Point Fortin, Mayaro and Arima.

History

The Bocas Lit Fest was held for the first time in 2011 – from Thursday, 28 April to Sunday, 1 May[21] – including readings, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings and art exhibitions.[22] Attracting 3,500 attendances over the four days.[23] the festival reflected its founder's aims "to promote literature and publishing in Trinidad and Tobago and the need for Caribbean writing to be celebrated everywhere".[24]

The scores of writers taking part in the 2012 festival, both locally-based and from abroad,[25] included Fred D'Aguiar, Earl Lovelace, Vahni Capildeo, Chika Unigwe, Monique Roffey, Kenneth Ramchand, Mervyn Morris, Achy Obejas, Rabindranath Maharaj, George Lamming, professor of genetics Steve Jones, Merle Hodge, Rahul Bhattacharya, and Michael Anthony. The festival featured readings, discussions, performances, workshops, screenings of films based on Caribbean writing and music.[26]

In 2013, the South+Central NGC Bocas Lit Fest, scheduled to take place annually in November, was inaugurated.[27][28] In November 2014, NGC Bocas Lit Fest South was hosted by Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando, birthplace of the writer Sam Selvon, and the festival commemorated the 20th anniversary of his death.[29]

In 2014, "Festival Radio" was inaugurated, to "bring the festival experience to listeners around the globe",[30] as well as attracting "a lot of attention on social media, spurred on in part by the active new media presence of the festival itself".[31]

Associated initiatives

OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

Main article: OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

The centrepiece of the NGC Bocas Lit Fest festival is the announcement at an award ceremony of the overall winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.[32] Entries for the prize are in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for a book by a Caribbean writer published in the previous year, with the overall winner being chosen by a panel of judges from the three genre winners.[33] The winners have been: in 2011, Derek Walcott's poetry collection White Egrets, in 2012 Earl Lovelace's novel Is Just a Movie, in 2013 Monique Roffey's novel Archipelago, and in 2014 Robert Antoni's novel As Flies to Whatless Boys.

Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize

Awarded in partnership with Bocas is the Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize,[34] sponsored by the Hollick Family Charitable Trust and the literary charitable trust the Arvon Foundation,[35][36] with the aim of allowing an emerging Caribbean writer living and working in the Anglophone Caribbean to devote time to developing a literary work, with support from an established writer as mentor.[37][38] The award was announced at the Bocas Lit Fest in 2012 by Sue Woodford-Hollick.[39] The first winner in 2013, for fiction, was Barbara Jenkins of Trinidad & Tobago.[40] The winner in 2014, for non-fiction, was Jamaican Diana McCaulay.[41]

Henry Swanzy Award

The Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters (named after the influential producer of the BBC radio programme Caribbean Voices that ran from 1943 to 1958) was inaugurated at the 2013 NGC Bocas Lit Fest,[42] as an "annual lifetime achievement award to recognise service to Caribbean literature by editors, publishers, critics, broadcasters, and others".[43][44] In 2013 the award was made to John La Rose (posthumously) and Sarah White of New Beacon Books.[45][46] In 2014, the award was jointly won by Professors Kenneth Ramchand and Gordon Rohlehr.[47] The 2015 recipient has been announced as Margaret Busby.[48]

Burt Award for Caribbean Literature

The Bocas Lit Fest additionally administers the Burt Award sponsored by CODE (Canadian Organization for Development Through Education)[49] for Caribbean authors of literature for young adults, launched in 2013.[44] The first-place winner in 2014 was A-dZiko Gegele, in second place was Joanne Hillhouse and in third place Colleen Smith-Dennis.[50][51]

Caribbean Literature Action Group (CALAG)

Launched in 2012[52] was the Caribbean Literature Action Group (CALAG),[53] a new partnership between the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council,[54] and Commonwealth Writers, aimed at supporting the development of Caribbean writing and publishing.[55][56] Public initiatives of the project use the "CaribLit" brand.[57]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Bocas Lit Fest: The Trinidad and Tobago Literary Festival", Repeating Islands, February 2011.
  2. ↑ "3 shortlisted for Bocas Prize", UWI Today, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, April 2011.
  3. ↑ "NGC Bocas Lit Fest Debate on TV6 today", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 22 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Carolyn Cooper, "T&T Lit Fest Puts Us to Shame", Jamaica Gleaner, 8 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "NGC Bocas Lit Fest Debate on TV6 today", Tun Up TV.
  6. ↑ Iana Seales, "Lit Fest opens up to non-English writers", Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 19 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "NGC Bocas Lit Fest launched at NALIS", Loop, 19 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Our Sponsors", NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
  9. ↑ "Bocas goes to Harlem! TT’s literary festival joins fiction programme in New York City", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 4 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Bocas at the Brooklyn Book Fest", 2013. NGC Bocas Lit Fest website.
  11. ↑ Johnny Temple "Bookish in Brooklyn" (on the Caribbean element in the Brooklyn Book Festival). Word of Mouth, Caribbean Beat, Issue 117, September/October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Coming from Far: Caribbean Writers on Home and Otherness (Readings and Discussion)". Presented by the NGC Bocas Literary Festival. Harlem Book Fair 2014.
  13. ↑ Ivette Romero, "Bocas Goes to Harlem", Repeating Islands, 5 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "World Writers at Bocas", Trinidad Express newspapers, 10 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Nicholas Laughlin's website.
  16. ↑ Paper Based Bookshop website.
  17. ↑ Aneka Lee, "Paper Based at The Normandie a bibliophile’s hidden dream", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 30 April 2014.
  18. ↑ About the NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
  19. ↑ Annie Paul, "The Bocas Lit Fest 2011", Active Voice, 7 May 2011.
  20. ↑ Marina Salandy-Brown, "What’s in a festival", Newsday, 26 April 2012.
  21. ↑ "2011 Bocas Lit Fest programme announced".
  22. ↑ "Trinidad and Tobago's Bocas Literary Festival: Ready, set!", signifyinguyana.com, 24 March 2011.
  23. ↑ A. J. Theolade, "Bocas Lit Fest continues to blossom", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 23 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Bocas Lit Fest a hit in London", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 24 June 2011.
  25. ↑ Julien Neaves, "Literary meals at Bocas Lit Fest", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 26 April 2012.
  26. ↑ Cherisse Moe, "Bocas Lit Fest to showcase creative talent", Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, 26 April 2012.
  27. ↑ Shivanee Ramlochan, "The NGC Bocas Lit Fest’s South+Central Weekend".
  28. ↑ "NGC Bocas Lit Fest goes south, central", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 25 October 2013.
  29. ↑ Shivanee Ramlochan, "Bocas South grows", Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, 16 November 2014.
  30. ↑ "NGC Bocas Lit Fest makes radio debut", Trinidad Express Newspapers, 22 April 2014.
  31. ↑ Matthew Hunte, "Bocas Literary Festival Showcases Caribbean Literature", Global Voices, 2 May 2014.
  32. ↑ "Bocas Lit Fest – The Trinidad and Tobago Literary Festival", Creative Caribbean Network.
  33. ↑ "The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature" at Bocas Lit Fest website.
  34. ↑ Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize page on Bocas Lit Fest website.
  35. ↑ Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize.
  36. ↑ The 2013 Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize, Resources, Wasafiri.
  37. ↑ "New literature prize opens for entries", Newsday, 25 June 2012.
  38. ↑ "New prize seeks to grow Caribbean writing", Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, 26 August 2012.
  39. ↑ "Announcing the Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize", Caribseek News, 1 May 2012.
  40. ↑ "Emerging writers prize opens for entries", Guardian Media, 24 July 2013.
  41. ↑ Ivette Romero, "The 2015 Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize—Deadline Approaching", Repeating Islands, 10 September 2014.
  42. ↑ Zahra Gordon, "Bocas Lit Fest adds new award", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 21 March 2013.
  43. ↑ "Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters", NGC Bocas Lit Fest 2013.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Zahra Gordon, fe"Bocas Lit Fest adds new award", Guardian Media, 21 March 2013.
  45. ↑ Marina Salandy-Brown, "Swanzy meets La Rose", Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, 18 April 2013.
  46. ↑ Sarah White, "Sarah's Backchat from the Bocas Litfest", George Padmore Institute, 6 June 2013.
  47. ↑ Michaelle Loubon, "Lit Fest honours for 2...Ramchand, Rohlehr to get awards", Trinidad Express, 19 March 2014.
  48. ↑ "The 2015 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award Recipient – Margaret Busby, OBE", Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters.
  49. ↑ "Burt Award for Caribbean Literature" at CODE.
  50. ↑ 2013 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Winners, CODE.
  51. ↑ "Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Winners Announced", ARC magazine, 27 April 2014.
  52. ↑ "Announcing the Caribbean Literature Action Group, NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
  53. ↑ "About Us", Caribbean Literature Action Group.
  54. ↑ "Cariblit", British Council - Literature.
  55. ↑ "British Council, Commonwealth Writers and NGC Bocas Lit Fest announce new partnership", British Council, 6 March 2012.
  56. ↑ "New partnership formed to support Caribbean literary scene", Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 6 March 2012.
  57. ↑ "About Us", CaribLit – Caribbean Literature Action Group.

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