GREAT BAY, St. Martin (January 25, 2004) — St. Martin author Lasana M. Sekou participated in the Winternachten international literature festival in The Hague, Netherlands in mid-January.
The festival, which is called the “the most adventurous literature festival in the Netherlands” and is in its ninth year. The forward-looking 2004 theme was Toekomst@idealen.nu.
The program of literary readings, discussions, workshops and live music performances opened on January 15, with the thematic essay by the Dutch scholarly critic and journalist Michael Zeeman followed by Sekou performing his poem “Title Deed.” Both texts introduced issues of history and the future.
On January 16, festival participants who signed up in advance for the publishing workshop discussed with Sekou the work of House of Nehesi Publishers and related issues such as freedom of expression in St. Martin. Under the banner “Claiming Artistic Freedom,” the full day of workshops headed by writers, filmmakers, and art gallery owners from India, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka discussed working under often dangerous but always challenging political, economic and social conditions.
The Saturday conference “Koninkrijk dromenrijk,” on aspects of the Dutch Kingdom’s future, found Sekou on the panel discussing political independence for St. Martin. Also on that panel were Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles Maurice Adriaens, former Minister Plenipotentiary Carel de Haseth, Curaçao author Barche Baromeo, and the Dutch-based Vivien Calmez. The panel was moderated by Ruben Severina and attended by some 200 people.
Two TV programs and one radio program interviewed Sekou following his comments on independence for St. Martin. On the evening of January 17, the St. Martin poet did his main recital in one of the halls of the Theater aan het Spui, followed by a recital in the foyer later that night.
According to one of the Winternachten directors Mories Romkens, some 2000 people attended the festival over the five days of jam-packed activities that hosted about 50 authors, musicians and cultural workers from the Caribbean, USA, South and Central America, Europe, Africa, India and the pacific.