Law and Poetry

Hello dear readers!

It has been quite a while since I last posted on the blog, so I'm furiously trying to catch up. I hope you have been enjoying poetry here on this blog and elsewhere. So much has happened since I last posted, including, sadly, the passing of Sir Derek Walcott, but also the good news of Lorna Goodison being appointed Jamaica's first female Poet Laureate.

I have been hunkered down for the past three years with another passion of mine - the law, and have been pursuing a grueling LLB program. Thankfully, I just finished writing my last three exams, and God willing, I am hoping in August I will have good results.

Now that my LLB program is out of the way, I will be more active on the blog, promoting the work of Caribbean poets, especially newer ones. I am so thankful to a reader who took the time to post a comment which included names of Caribbean poets I did not have on my list. I am so grateful to readers who bring to my attention amazing poets throughout the Caribbean. Thank you also to the other readers who posted very thoughtful comments on my post. I appreciate your patience regarding my delayed responses.

If you live in Canada, I hope you are enjoying the Canada Day celebrations, and to my United States readers, Happy Fourth of July!

Walk good!

Comments

ElizabethJames said…
Hi Yasmin - I found your blog while looking for Afro-Caribbean writers groups. I am helping to organize the first ever writers conference in Belize and I'm trying to get the word out. If you are interested in learning more, or would possibly like to mention the conference on your blog, I'd love to send you more information. There will be two literary agents from New York available to hear pitches and teach master classes, as well as workshops and critique sessions. It's a great opportunity for anyone with a completed manuscript and will also hopefully bolster the literary arts in Belize. Here is our website: http://www.joeygarcia.com/events/ Thanks for your time and for promoting beautiful words!
Yasmin Morais said…
Elizabeth,

Thanks so much for getting in touch, and for your kind words on the blog. I am so glad you found it. I would be very happy to promote your upcoming Writers' conference in Belize. Congrats on getting that organized. I will definitely spread the word on my blog as well as via my Twitter account. In addition to your website link, please send me any other details you would like to get out to writers in the Caribbean. Kind regards, Yasmin
ElizabethJames said…
Hi Yasmin - Thanks so much! The conference runs next April 23-28 and we are accepting applications now. We will have literary agents Carrie Howland of Empire Literary and Kate Johnson of Wolf Literary Services in attendance who will be leading panels and workshops, as well as writing coach and author, Jane Anne Staw (http://janeannestaw.com/blog/).

The conference will take place at the Ak'bol yoga retreat on the gorgeous Ambergris Caye and yoga will be woven into the conference as well.

This is the first time a literary conference has ever taken place in Belize. A book by a Belizean author has not been published since 1982. We're trying to promote the literary arts in Belize and bring it into the fold of the Caribbean literary scene, as well as introduce writers to the rich cultural heritage of the country. We'll have cultural demonstrations as well as a lecture on the history of Belize so that attending authors feel inspired, invigorated, and ready to publish.

All best,

Elizabeth
ElizabethJames said…
Oh, and our Twitter handle is @BelizeWrite and we're on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BelizeWritersConference/ --thanks again!
Yasmin Morais said…
Elizabeth, thanks for the update. It sounds like an exciting conference, and I will do all that I can to promote it. I hope that you will have a large attendance and that this will inspire a literary movement in Belize. I am not sure if you have reached out to anyone from the Calabash Literary Festival which takes place in Jamaica annually. You could check if there can be some collaboration regarding promotion, etc.

If I can help in any other way, please let me know. I have noted your Twitter handle and Facebook link. I will certainly promote it on my Facebook page as well.

Take care.
Yasmin
ElizabethJames said…
Thanks for the suggestion - I will definitely reach out to them :)

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