It
wasn't Father's Day and they weren't my children, but I could feel the love at
the Anancy Festival on Saturday at
the South Regional/Broward College Library.
The
workshop, Anancy
Writes Poetry, and the reading from The
Christmas Dutch Pot Baby were well attended. I was happy that my friends, Andrea Shaw,
Malachi Smith, and Michele Fievre--all published writers--participated in the
workshop and read unfinished pieces for the audience.
The
children, of course, stole the show with wonderfully imagined poems that they
were able to write by the end of the workshop.
The
reading from The Christmas Dutch Pot Baby
was a success and fulfilled my mission for writing children's books: to get Jamaican
parents and children together to read a book that has characters that look and
sound like us. The parents readily appreciated the subtle irony of the title because of the associations of Dutch
pots with Jamaican colorism in a story I like to call "the redemption of
Dutchie."
The
children loved the story and were in awe of the graphics. It felt so good to
say, "My daughter drew all the pictures!" To which a young asked,
"Is she in art school?"
Thank
you to all the parents and children who came to the workshop and the reading.
Thanks also to the organizers of the Anancy Festival, Andrea Shaw and Xavier
Murphy, for inviting me to read and to conduct the workshop. I'd be remiss if I
did not include Valrie Simpson and the South/ Regional/Broward College Library
for opening their doors to the festival and providing a space for the
community. Much blessings.
I'm
looking forward to Anancy Festival 2014!
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