This year the event, which is being called "Summer Speaks: Autumn Edition", will be held at Sheer restaurant on Frontstreet in Philipsburg. The theme of this year's event is "Now...I am free."
Event organizer, Lysanne Charles, said that while the event usually ran in July, this year she had opted to organize the venture later in the year.
"This year has been one of tremendous opportunity and growth for both myself and Clara Reyes of Imbali Center for Creative Movement, the entity with which I usually collaborate for both Summer Speaks and Winters Words. After a hectic start of 2012 I had initially decided to not have the event this year, but after several inquiries by poets and attendees from previous years I decided to simply postpone it until later in the year," Charles said.
Charles said that since its inception Summer Speaks had been hosted at various venues across the island and when the opportunity to partner with Sheer had been put forth she had jumped at the offer.
"From the initial meeting with Valentin Davis of Sheer he expressed great enthusiasm for the arts in general and poetry in particular and really threw himself wholeheartedly behind this event. Sheer is a really beautiful setting and provides exactly the right ambiance for Summer Speaks. Mr. Davis has also promised to provide a scrumptious buffet dinner," Charles said.
Charles also explained that this year's event would also consist of only one evening rather than the usual three or four and so the line-up for "Now...I am free" was a very forceful one. Scheduled poets include Sumaiyah, Giovanni "Gino" Olivacce, Marianne Tefft, Stephan "Stretch" Rodney, and Anderson Percival. There will also be musical performances by members of Catch 22, Shakiya Arrindell and Lena Browne.
"Usually the program runs over several weeks, but this year I wanted to do it a little different, just for this once while I tweak the formats for both Summer Speaks and Winter's Words and continue with the development of Soualigan Fyah. So just this once Summer Speaks is only going to run for one night, but I'm definitely looking forward to working with Mr. Davis again in the near future for Winter's Words," Charles said.
This year Charles, who is preparing for a performance related trip to Tortola, will not be reading poetry, but will read one short story and act as co-MC with Clara Reyes.
"The line-up will not miss me. The evening is choked full of power poets and spoken word artists and amazingly beautiful musicians and singers. Every year we try and do it different and better, this year is no exception. So I'm encouraging all the supporters of both "Summer Speaks" and "Winter's Words" to come out and enjoy this evening with us and bring a friend. But space is limited so call, reserve and buy your ticket in advance," Charles said.
For more information about cost of tickets and where they can be purchased people should contact Charles at 586-1266 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
