GREAT BAY/MARIGOT:--- Dr. Dannabang Kuwabong is in St. Martin with his brand new poetry collection, Voices from Kibuli Country, said Shujah Reiph, coordinator of the St. Martin Book Fair.
There will be a poetry reading and book signing by Dr. Kuwabong at Philipsburg Jubilee Library, on Saturday, May 24 at 7:30 PM, as a pre-Book Fair activity, said Reiph.
Voices from Kibuli Country includes poetry about St. Martin based on impressions from a previous visit by the Ghanaian poet who is also a literature professor at the University of Puerto Rico.
"The Book Fair Committee is inviting all poetry and culture lovers, all lovers of good books to come out to this free and inspiring recital. I'm also very interested in how a traveling writer and scholar at the level of Dr. Kuwabong interprets his experiences about the people, culture and land of St. Martin," said Reiph.
Dr. Kuwabong's "collection results from the author's experiences in Ontario ... and his travels over several Caribbean islands and in the United States as a person of multiple locations and origins: Canadian, African and Ghanaian," according to TSAR Publications, the book's Canadian publisher.
Dr. Kuwabong has been busy in the region and in Canada this year. He was a guest author at Hamilton's Literary Festival in Ontario where his book signing followed what organizers called, "a fascinating reading and discussion about identity and the impact of cultural heritage on the stories we tell."
In April, Dr. Kuwabong delivered a scholarly paper on "The Ecopoetics of St. Martin" in Aruba at the 16th Eastern Caribbean Island Cultures Conference. The author of at least five books arrived at SXM Airport on Thursday from a working visit in St. Croix. In a few days he will be heading to Ghana. While on the Friendly Island Prof. Dannabang Kuwabong will also interview various people for a Caribbean literary project that he is working on.
The recital on Saturday, May 24 is a pre-Book Fair activity in preparation for the 12th annual St. Martin Book Fair, June 5 – 7, 2014. Conscious Lyrics Foundation and House of Nehesi Publishers are the organizers of the upcoming book festival, in collaboration with St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, University of St. Martin, LCF Foundation, and St. Martin Tourist Office. The SXM Airport and SOS Radio are also sponsors of the St. Martin Book Fair 2014.
