Guyanese poets and writers are invited to participate in the ‘One Republic’ virtual poetry medley being presented tonight by the Pakaraima Writers Association (PWA). The virtual event will see 14 poets and writers share their work.
Every year for the last few years, the association has been hosting the virtual sessions at least three times a year.
Tonight’s featured poets are Guyanese living in Canada, the US, Trinidad and Guyana: founder and past president of the PWA Janet Naidu, Peter Jailall, Ray Williams, Ken Puddicombe, Dr Jerome Branche, Francis Quamina Farrier, Petamber Persaud, Lisa Freemantle, Alicia Daniels, James Richmond, Dr Kumar Mahabir, Dr Shabeena Ramjohn, Shirley Najram, and Quanisha Patterson.
Tonight’s event will serve as motivation for persons interested in writing poetry as well as spoken word performances. President of the association Habeeb Alli hopes that participants will also take away the importance of preserving our heritage.
He shared that the association is there to assist Guyanese writers and artists in promoting their work and helping them to get published. Habeeb himself has so far published 25 books including poetry books featuring unity and fighting racism called Red Coconut and Underground Lines.
Habeeb also told The Scene the last poetry medley which he and his team had planned to have in a physical setting subsequently moved to being hosted virtually as COVID guidelines were not relaxed as they had hoped.
Pakaraima Writers Association was founded almost 17 years ago by Janet Naidu, who works as an expert consultant in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion. She said the concept for the association about in 2005, the same year, she was preparing to launch a second collection of her poems called Rainwater. She was already living in Canada having left Guyana in the 1970s. The idea came to her then to start a writers’ group. She noted that though there is a Guyanese community there that is supportive, writing can be a solitary road.
“I decided if I start a group, we can get people motivated; discuss procrastination, share ideas on how to get published,” she said.
She placed an advertisement in the newspapers and people began calling. Before long, they were having their very first meeting at a coffee shop in Toronto. Janet knew that having had her
books published, she would be able to guide others in doing the same. Following the founding of the group, some persons went on to have their books published.
Janet shared that with the Guyana Festival being held around Guyana’s Independence Day celebrations in Canada, the association managed to get a booth to share its journey and work with the public. It was through the festival that it became better known.
The author who served as president for the association for 13 consecutive years shared that unlike the virtual events, she along with other organisers hosted dinners which sometimes saw as many as 60 people in attendance. The association subsequently initiated the Pakaraima’s Award, which was first awarded to poet and writer Ian McDonald.
It was no easy job to keep the group running, Janet said, but added that Habeeb is doing a phenomenal job. She confided that she was never one for technology and with the pandemic forcing us to adopt this new way, Habeeb is doing a fine job organising virtual programmes and attracting a larger audience.
Though physical meetings have always been held in Toronto, Janet said the PWA was looking to expand to Guyana, the US and Trinidad while making the events virtual at the same time for persons unable to attend.
Tonight’s event begins at 8 o’clock, and runs until 10 o’clock, Guyana time (or 7 pm – 9 pm Toronto/US time). The hosts are Habeeb and Brock University professor Sherry Itwaru. The programme will be shared on Facebook, YouTube and Spotify. To register, Habeeb can be reached via the website: pakaraimawriters.org or persons can join via Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89531260518 or the Zoom App using ID: 895 3126 0518.
