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What is Natio



The Caribbean Writer In-

the UVI

Community to join us in



vites entire

celebrating National Po-

etry Month in April. Na-

tional Poetry Month is a

month-long, national

celebration of poetry

established by the Acad-



emy of American Poets



The Caribbean Writer's goals

for National Poetry Month

are to:



» Highlight the extraordi-

nary legacy and achieve-

ment of Caribbean, and in

particular, Virgin Island and

Latin American poets.



& Introduce more Virgin

Islanders and Caribbean

people in general to the

pleasures of reading po-



etry.



to widen the attention

of individuals and the

media—to the art of po-

etry, to living poets, to

our complex poetic

heritage, and to poetry

books and journals of

wide aesthetic range and



concern.



> Bring poets and poetry

to the public in immediate

and innovative ways by

creating programs to com-

bine music, dance and

technology with poetry.



» Make poetry a more

important part of the

school curriculum in the

Virgin Islands by establish-

ing Poets in the School

Programs here.



» Increase the attention

paid to poetry by national

and local media, by insist-



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1010 National Poetry



Month Poster



ing that these groups regu-

larly feature poets and po-

etry in their programming.



» Encourage increased

publication, distribution,

and sales of poetry books.



» Increase public and pri-

vate philanthropic support

for The Caribbean Writer

and local poets.

PAGE 2



“As we look to the

past, we see the

connections and



links to the



present...”



? ‘

National



POETRY



MONTH



April



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| |

‘What you can do. .. !

I

We encourage all of you When we think of po- Cedars Blooming—An

i

i to find a poem you love’ etry in the Caribbean, Anthology of Virgin Is-

and share it with your we have to first look to lands Poetry, and I in- |

I colleagues and family. the Oral Tradition, at vite each of you to read |

j} Memorize a poem and those poems that were it. Those of you who are I

1 recite it to friends. shared and handed parents, get a copy and

Join Opal Palmer Adisa, down to us in the form share it with your chil- |

I editor of The Caribbean of songs and tales. dren so they know their |

| Writer for the second Marvin E. Williams, the history and culture.

I Creative Luncheon former editor of The

(scheduled for Thursday Caribbean Writer, com- |

I April 8 from 12 noon to piled a seminal work, |

| 1 p.m. in NW 102) and examining Virgin Is-

i write a poem celebrat- lands poetry. The collec- |

\ ing your life. tion is entitled, Yellow i

Fd

Ee a ae —



Featured Virgin Island’s Poet Gerwyn Todman



One of the important early writers

from the above mentioned collection is

Gerwyn Todman, St. Thomian born

and educated (1899-1948), who later

emigrated to New York, but remained

intricately connected to his roots, and

published one volume of poems St Tho-

mas; A Retrospective, 1921, An excerpt

of one of his poems “Slavery Days”

appears below:



“A New World lay before the eyes



Of Nations hot for fresh emprise,



And nothing barred the conq’ring way

Of those who would acquire sway.

The Spaniard had, in ruthless mode,

Made ill its bosom his abode,



And swiftly drained each cavern-hold

Of that most precious metal—gold.

The French came and pitched his tent;

And every nation which did care

Made on its face a demesne fair.”



(To read this poem in its entirety, pick

up a copy of Yellow Cedars Blooming-

An Anthology of Virgin Islands Poetry

at the UVI campus bookstores.)



THE CARIBBEAN WRITER



As we look to the past, we see the connec-

tions and links to the present and St. Croix’s

own Marvin E. Williams offers us another

perspective. ..



The Mill Ruin Above Ham’s Bluff



The sea’s hoarse turbulent voice grates

in the weary ears of this shell



of a windrmmull above the bluff:



its open mouth invites Prosperity,



that thirsty estate whose memory only

remains prosperous (perhaps prosperity

lingers too in its rainbow back



crabs that swiftly disappear in ravenous

traps of our docked pirates or



in search of rivers long eloped with

conquistadors wearing Panama hats),



In this mill I see shells of hurricanes



crushed by the reflection of their returned



cruelty and magnificence; I feel my great father’s

arm crushed in the wheels that ground beyond

sreed’s necessity, his nub soothed by



the stubborn astonishment of sugar; I hear



the bomba’s ambivalence in the whip



and the wound of his whipping, the slave



ship stranded on the middle passage of

VOLUME I, ISSUE I



The Mill Ruin Above Ham’s Bluff cont*d. . .



our journey from ruins of empires

to rise of profligate islands whose

enarled roots are the new world’s.



Often I fix my face in that stone work

mirror whose stare returns cracked, jagged

to give me fault lines that reject the faults

bequeathed in my inheritance. Yet I must

accept its gift, for this bounty is



the only one it can tender. Like this ochre

shell I surrender, the conch swallowing

without denying



the sea’s echo as its own signifying.



POETRY



PAGE 3



eo a at aw oe ee oe ee oe er ee amy



‘



Celebrate National Poetry Month

with



THE CARIBBEAN WRITER



The Literary Gem of the Caribbean



First Annual

ational Poetry Month Celebraticy,



featuring:

Local Poets:

Dara Monifah Cooper Vincent O. Cooper

Patricia Harkins-Pierre ChenziRa D, Kahina

Winifred “Oyoko” Loving Maud Pierre-Charles

Tregenza A. Roach Mark Sylvester

Opal Palmer Adisa



UVI Student Poets

Carl “Mufasa” Christopher Wendell Grouby Jr.

Adelso Henry Crystal Peter



High School Poet:

Shanah Bannis

When: Saturday April 10, 1-4 p.m.

Where: EC 401—STX Campus &

B110 (Chase Auditorium) - STT Campus



Open to all UVI Students, Faculty, Staff

and the greater Virgin Islands community.



For additional information

Call 6924152 or email info@thecaribbeanwriter. org



Become a Friend of The Caribbean Writer’Subscribe at

www. thecaribbeanwriter. org



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— eee



Cruzan



by Opal Palmer Adisa



the poetry



of st. croix



are its people



with their salutary

greeting



marnin’ marnin’

referencing the day itself

and embracing the person



it’s the hardy

delicious national dish

of kallallo and fungi

fueling you to work

despite the heat

kissing and embracing

your body and soul



it’s the wide stride



leap of the moko jumbie

forever stepping over



a colonial legacy



that would have it forget

its mother Africa



that prances and masks

tenacity and victory



in every stride



it’s the grace of the yellow breast

indigenous to these regions

self-assured like its people

soaring beyond the beyond

backdropped against the ocean

with her protecting arms

cradling and soothing



as her singing waters



continuous

National Poetry Month Weekly Prize Question



The Caribbean Writer invites you to Win a Prize.



Tell us:

Who is the first Caribbean Poet to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?



Provide Poet's Name, Island of Origin, Year and Title of winning Vol-

ume.



The first person to email us (qmars@uvi.edu) the correct answers will

receive a complimentary copy of Seasoning for the Mortar and will be

announced in next week’s Poetry Month news.



Stay tuned......



Email us relevant information on Virgin Islands poets.



See what poets and prizes we will offer next week.



Become a friend of The Caribbean Writer.



Subscribe today at www.TheCaribbeanWriter.org



E-mail: info@thecaribbeanwriter.org



a ee



—_.



MORTAR



manities Council.



www.thecaribbeanwriter.org



THE CARIBBEAN WRITER The Caribbean Writer, an international, literary, refe-

University of the Virgin Islands reed journal with a Caribbean focus, is published by

RR |, Box 10,000 the University of the Virgin Islands.

Kingshill, St. Croix

USVI 00850



The Caribbean Writer has received grants from the Co-

Phone: 340-692-4152 ordinating Council of Literary Magazines and Presses,

Fax: 340-692-4026 two Pushcart Prizes, and support from the Virgin Is-



lands Council on the Arts and the Virgin Islands Hu-



memes