Pearl Eintou Springer is a well-known cultural activist in Trinidad and Tobago. Her areas of acclaim include her work as Director of the National Heritage Library. Mrs. Springer worked in the field of heritage librarianship since 1983 and has transformed the National Heritage Library into a notable institution intimately involved in culture, the arts and promoting the history and literature of Trinidad, Tobago and the Caribbean.
In other fields of culture, she is involved with several community organisations including NJAC, where she was seminal in the organization of the cultural arm and in the development of the "Black Traditions in Arts" and was director of the Black Peoples' Theatre which was an important part of its community thrust. Mrs. Springer has been a founding member of several artistic, cultural and community organisations, chief among these are Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Traditional African National Association of Trinidad and Tobago (TANA), Confederation of African Associations of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Theatre Guild. She has served both as a best village tutor and judge and responsible for co-ordinating the very successful symposia elements of both Carifesta held in Trinidad and Tobago in 1992 and 1995.
As a dramatist, she has been part of initiating theatre in the Education Programme throughout Trinidad and Tobago, and has held numerous seminars and workshops in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, United States and United Kingdom urging theatre as a form of conscientization for young people and women in particular. She has used theatre throughout schools and institutions in Trinidad and Tobago to teach AIDS awareness and self-esteem. She lectures regularly in schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago and works extensively with youths.
As a performer she has received several awards for acting. She has performed as actress, storyteller and performance poet at home and internationally, including at the Edinburgh festival in Scotland. She is regularly called upon to deliver papers locally and internationally on subjects as varied as women's' affairs, theatre and the arts and in her own professional field as a librarian. She has served on the Board of the Queens Hall for approximately a decade, being part of the initiating and organizing of the Vie La Cour, now a part of the Carnival Calendar.
She has also been part of the Prime Minister Race Relations Committee for the past three (3) years, and an active member of Egbe Orisa Lle Wa, she represents her spiritual mother Iyalorisa Melvina Rodney in the Council of Orisa Elders of Trinidad and Tobago.
Her writings include several unpublished, but staged plays, three collections of published poetry for adults and children, a social studies text on the Caribbean, unpublished and published papers, and representations of her work in several anthologies. Originally from Cantaro Village, Santa Cruz, she holds a Past Pupil Emeritus Award from her Alma Mater, St. George's College Barataria and is the mother of three daughters. She holds and M. Phil., degree from City University, London and an ALA from the Library Association of Britain.
Courtesy Newspaper clippings from National Heritage Library