GREAT BAY/MARIGOT, St. Martin (June 15, 2003) — St. Kitts-Nevis Minister of Culture Jacinth Henry-Martin will not only deliver the keynote address at St. Martin’s First Book Fair on June 20 at 8 PM, but will also launch her first book of poems, said book fair coordinator Shujah Reiph.
Ian Randle Publishers of Jamaica recently published the book, Dancing in Bondage, and St. Martin is the first step on the book signing tour by the author. “I’m delighted that St. Martin is the first country outside of St. Kitts where I’ll be reading from the book,” said Minister Martin-Henry. The three-day book fair and book launch will take place at the Chamber of Commerce Building in Spring Concordia, Marigot.
The minister’s address will also celebrate books and writing and the importance that St. Martin’s first book fair is taking place at this time. “It is high time that Caribbean people represent ourselves in our own words … document our experiences … for the benefit of ourselves and for the benefit of those who want to know about us.”
The minister added that this “golden opportunity for the people of St. Martin and for the visiting public to interact with writers and performers” is proof that Caribbean people are at once a listening, performing, reading and writing people. Martin-Henry, who wanted to write a book since she was in high school, is also minister of sports and youth affairs—and is a former national calypso queen of St. Kitts-Nevis.
Conscious Lyrics Foundation and House of Nehesi publishers are organizing the book fair.