MICHAEL ASHBY
Michael Ashby, in addition to being a poet, also produces greetings cards, bookmarks and coffee mugs etched with poems. He is inspired by life, love, spirituality and nature especially the Northern Range and the seaside. His work has been published by daily newspapers and he has also participated in exhibitions.
So stressful was I,
This day will always stand high,
As magnificent wonder was in full cry.
I sat by a spring, which was in full swing,
Gathering its waters in an enormous sink.
I felt its splendor as purity flowed,
May feet dangled in the water below.
I paused for a moment as I heard a sound.
And saw three birds perched,
As if to serenade me with a perfect song
Book: Poetic Jewels
Excerpt taken from: In Touch With Nature
Call Number: WI 811.6 As
Source: Ashby, M. (2003). Poetic jewels. Port of Spain: Poetic Jewels.
ANDRE BAGOO
Andre Bagoo is a poet and writer. In addition to Pitch Lake which is his third book, he has also authored the books Trick Vessels and BURN. His poems have appeared in the journals: Almost Island, Boston Review, Cincinnati Review and St. Petersburg Review of Books. In 2017 he was awarded The Charlotte and Isidor Paiewonsky Prize by The Caribbean Writer.
Even the beach is deceptive
a piece of wood turns into a dolphin
a rock is really soft clay
all things come undone at Redhead Bay
I go, I go, I go, I go –
exploring a mile I’ll never know
Book: Pitch Lake
Excerpt taken from: Redhead Bay, Cumana
Call Number: WI 811.6 Ba
Source: Bagoo, A. (2017). Pitch Lake. Leeds, U. K.: Peepal Tree Press.
EULAH BORDE
Eulah Borde is an entrepreneur who is internationally recognized as a development consultant. She is also an educator with experience as a newspaper columnist, politician, historical conservationist and mentor to Caribbean women. A Palette of Passions is her first collection of poems.
To jaunty tunes of tiny birds
Earth’s day relentlessly unfolds
Sailing pelicans artfully swing
And grace the theatre of dawn.
Then in the twinkling of an eye
Shoots up the crimson sun and carves the pewter ocean deep,
Mounts the patient sky with silent, brilliant majesty
And couples the horizon, audaciously.
Book: A Palette of Passions
Excerpt taken from: Sunrise
Call Number: WI 811.6 Bo
Source: Borde, E. (2003). A palette of passions. Santa Cruz, Trinidad & Tobago: Possibilities Unlimited.
WAYNE BROWN
Wayne Brown’s book On the Coast (1973) was award the Commonwealth Prize for Poetry and also received a Poetry Book Society recommendation. His other works were Edna Manley: The Private Years (1976), Voyages (1989) which was another collection of poems, The Child of the Sea (1990) and Landscape with Heron (2000), the last two being a collection of short stories. He was a newspaper columnist and lectured in English Literature at the University of the West Indies, Mona and St. Augustine campuses and in the United States.
Rust stiffens the louvres, but we hook
them open a crack for one more look
at the ocean. Overhead, palms trees like hefted squid
lean seaward, trailing their tentacles,
useless in air.
Book: On the Coast: and other poems
Excerpt taken from: Rampanalgas
Call Number: WI 811.54 Br
Source: Brown, W. (2010). On the coast: and other poems. Leeds, United Kingdom: Peepal Tree.
Peepal Tree Press. (n. d.). Wayne Brown. Retrieved from http://www.peepaltreepress.com/authors/wayne-brown
IAN DIEFFENTHALLER
Ian Dieffenthaller grew up in San Fernando but was trained as an architect in the United Kingdom and acquired his PhD from the University of Birmingham. In addition to Crossed Suns, he is also the author of Snow on Sugarcane. He has written articles about West Indian poetry for the journals Wasafiri, PNR and Mango Season.
A painter at the water’s edge, dabs rainbow dabs
for flesh of hazy mountains; silver pins for trees.
And when I note these hills are barely visible,
he says that they’re as visible as summer’s breeze;
Book: Crossed Suns
Excerpt taken from: Summer
Call Number: WI 811.008 0972983 Di
Source: Dieffenthaller. I. (2009). Crossed suns. Royston, U.K.: Cane Arrow Press.
RAMABAI ESPINET
Ramabai Espinet was born in Trinidad and resides in Canada. She writes poetry, fiction and essays. Her work has been featured in many journals and she is the editor of Creation Fire, an anthology of poems by Caribbean women.
Could only imagine
Panic, groping fingers
Her unborn child’s tears
The desperate climb
Away from the immigration
Hunter-man
About this poem – In 1979 Patrician Deanna, a young Caribbean woman fell to her death from a balcony in her bid to escape immigration officials after they broke down the door to an apartment where she was baby-sitting. She was pregnant at the time and in the country illegally.
Book: Nuclear Seasons
Excerpt taken from: For Patricia Deanna
Call Number: WI 811.54 Es
Source: Espinet, R. (1991). Nuclear seasons. Toronto: Sister Vision Press.
ALEX DE VERTEUIL
Alex de Verteuil grew up in Trinidad but left in his late teens with family to live in the United Kingdom. Whilst there he became a journalist, then moved to France to work for an international oil service company. He returned to Trinidad in 1976. He has written poetry for as long as he can remember.
DAWN GLAISHER
Dawn Glaisher was born in San Fernando but moved to West Africa when she was eight because her father was transferred there as a colonial police officer. She eventually moved to the United Kingdom where she received a degree in Literature and Linguistics. In 1993 Dawn moved back to Tobago.
dry season deepens
pale crescents scar the palm trunk
where each branch fell
Book : Echō of Bashō: haiku voices of the Caribbean
Call Number: WI 811.6 Dev
Source: De Verteuil, A. & Glaisher, D. (2007). Echō of Bashō: haiku voices of the Caribbean. Bon Accord, Tobago: Chickichong Publishing.
HELEN DRAYTON
Helen Drayton is a painter, poet, novelist, former Independent Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and had a decades-long career as a banking executive in Trinidad and Tobago.
Every house had a pot hound; mind you, not as a guard dog,
because in those days thieves didn’t come into your house
and steal things – well maybe mangos, oranges and
zabocas… Yes? All the houses had pink curtains of pink or
blue and even green, but mostly white or cream and looked
especially nice on Saturday morning when everyone was
outside washing the stairs, yard, drains and the road just in
front of their house.
Book: Passages: Selected poems
Excerpt taken from: Memories of Belmont
Call Number: WI 811.60972983 Dr
Source: Drayton, H. (2009). Passages: selected poems. Trinidad and Tobago: Morton Publishing.
KAVITA VIDYA GANNESS
Emerald Journey is Kavita Vidya Ganness’s first collection of poems. She is also an English teacher and Songwriter. She is a member of the Writer’s Union of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ever since I was a child
This song I would always hear –
A song so sweet and pure
That seemed to flow from everywhere.
At the window I would find myself
Straining my eyes to see,
Wondering where was this Morning Bird –
Wondering if he was hiding from me.
Book: Emerald Journey
Excerpt taken from: The Morning Bird
Call Number: WI 811.6 Ga
Source: Ganness, K. V. (2007). Emerald journey. Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago: The New Voices.
ANSON GONZALEZ
Anson Gonzalez is one of the most prominent poets in Trinidad and Tobago. He began his career in the 1960s and his work has garnered many awards such as the Writers’ Union Writer of the Year Award (1988), a Lifetime Award from the Circle of Poets of T&T and the San Fernando Arts Council Award for Invaluable Contribution to Literary Arts (2008). In 2009 he was made Poet Laureate of Port of Spain.
He founded and published The New Voices, a literary journal in 1973 and the next year he established New Voices, a publishing imprint that catered to Caribbean writers. The New Voices Newsletter that he founded in 1981, provided information about writers, literary competition, grants and workshops to Caribbean writers.
aroma signaled scent
to tincture of home
poet versatile and generous
invites prodigal
to communion
eastern spices
poor Cristoforo sought
Book: Artefacts of presence: collected poems 1964 – 2000
Excerpt taken from: Roti in Miami
Call Number: WI 811.54 Go
Source: Gonzalez, A. (2010). Artefacts of presence: collected poems 1964 – 2000. Leeds, U.K.: Peepal Tree.
MARINA AMA OMOWALE MAXWELL
Marina Ama Omowale Maxwell is the founder of the Writers’ Union, Trinidad and The Yard Theatre. In addition to Decades to Ama, she has also authored Chopstix in Mauby. Marina has produced work in theatre and television and has been a lecturer for creative writing and communications.
In this cold ashen city I wear a brown glaze
and I am different and to be stared at.
The tubes are filled, the very air
with people’s griefs, eyes vacant to the crowd,
full of transients
Book: Decades to Ama
Excerpt taken from: London Keening
Call Number: WI 811.54 Ma
Source: Omowale Maxwell, M. A. (2005). Decades to Ama. Leeds, U.K.: Peepal Tree.
KENNETH VIDIA PARMASAD
Child of the Storms: and other poems was the first collection of poems from Kenneth Vidia Parmasad. He is also the author of Salt and Roti, Kheesas: local Indian folktales and many other titles. He is considered a pioneer of children’s folktales in Trinidad. He was a full-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.
Béké the watchman
with the bastard eye
who allowed no corruption
but his own
strutted about leather-red
under the fading crimson sun.
In one hand he jingled
a bunch of keys
as he made his evening rounds
in the other he carried a battered gun
salvaged from world war one.
His presence was the final touch
of a master painter’s brush
and the estate froze before my eyes
crude relic from a time long past.
Book: Child of the Storms: and other poems
Excerpt taken from: The Estate
Call Number: WI 811.54 Pa
Source: Parmasad, K. V. (1987). Child of storms: and other poems. Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago: The New Voices.
JENNIFER RAHIM
Jennifer Rahim’s work includes Mothers Are Not the Only Linguists (1992), Between the Fence and the Forest (2007) and Approaching Sabbaths (2009) which won a Casa de las Américas Prize. Her poems have appeared in many journals such as The Journal of West Indian Literature, The Trinidad and Tobago Review and MaComere.
Something is here, alive as breath
always reminds us of ourselves
while we labour and build,
growing too large for the castle
of ourselves, forgetful of ourselves,
it approaches as a pirogue
Book: 100 Poems from Trinidad & Tobago – edited by Ian Dieffenthaller and Anson Gonzalez
Excerpt taken from: Chatham
Call Number : WI 811.54 Pa
Source: Dieffenthaller, I. & Gonzalez, A. (Eds.). (2012). 100 poems from Trinidad & Tobago. Royston, United Kingdom: Cane Arrow Press.
Poetry Foundation (n. d.) Jennifer Rahim. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jennifer-rahim
SAM SELVON
Samuel Selvon was a prominent Trinidadian author. His work included A Brighter Sun (1952), The Lonely Londoners (1958), Moses Ascending (1975) and Highway in the Sun (1991) which is a collection of plays. The Book of Poems, a collection of his plays, was published posthumously in 2012 after being painstakingly collected by Roydon Salick.
The doc dead.
Who keep wake for he?
Anybody went to Woodford Square?
And say a prayer for the poor man soul?
Or everybody wondering
What he left in the will for we!
Book: 100 Poems from Trinidad & Tobago – edited by Ian Dieffenthaller and Anson Gonzalez
Excerpt taken from: So the Doc Dead Eh
Call Number: WI 811.54 Pa
Source: Dieffenthaller, I. & Gonzalez, A. (Eds.). (2012). 100 poems from Trinidad & Tobago. Royston, United Kingdom: Cane Arrow Press.
Samuel Selvon: Caribbean author. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica online. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Selvon
EINTOU PEARL SPRINGER
Eintou Pearl Springer is a poet, playwright, storyteller and actress. She is also a Librarian, who, in her tenure, conceptualized and spearheaded the formation of the Heritage Library Division of the National Library & Information System Authority. She was its first Director. She is a recipient of the Humming Bird Silver award for her contribution to the development art and culture in Trinidad and Tobago which included pioneering the Junior Best Village Competition. She was also awarded a Vanguard Cacique Award for her contribution to theatre.
Cicadas in mourning
call
across the darkening hill
lush green
pointing
to meet the
reddened yellow
sky
Book: 100 Poems from Trinidad & Tobago – edited by Ian Dieffenthaller and Anson Gonzalez
Excerpt taken from: Sunset in Santa Cruz
Call Number: WI 811.54 Pa
Source: Dieffenthaller, I. & Gonzalez, A. (Eds.). (2012). 100 poems from Trinidad & Tobago. Royston, United Kingdom: Cane Arrow Press.
Culture Division -Ministry of Community Development Culture and the Art. (n. d.). Eintou Pearl Springer. Retrieved from http://www.culture.gov.tt/our-mentors/eintou-pearl-springer/
MERVYN TAYLOR
Mervyn Taylor was born in Port of Spain but moved to the United States where he attended Howard University and the Columbia University School of the Arts. He then taught English and Creative Writing at the Bronx Community College and subsequent to that, in the New York Public School system. He is the author of six works of poetry which includes the aforementioned Gone Away as well as No Back Door, The Waving Gallery and Voices Carry. He has received the Paterson Award for Literary Excellence.
Four years turned into forty.
I missed my mother’s funeral,
the Black Power uprising,
the thighs of an old woman
that became a lifelong dream.
The mountains turned brown
and green that many times,
the savannah too. The lane
grew empty, while I searched
for love in the metropolis,
turning back at the borders
Book: Gone Away
Excerpt taken from: Gone Away
Call Number: WI 811.54 09 72983 Ta
Source: Taylor, M. (2006). Gone away. New York: Junction Press.
BILL TROTMAN
Bill Trotman is a calypsonian, dancer, artist, sculptor, poet, musician, composer and master of ceremonies. He counts as his influence, Geoffrey Holder. As an artist, he has nurtured his skill over several decades. Throughout the span of his career he has held six solo exhibitions and his work was featured in many joint exhibitions throughout the world.
As a dancer, he has performed with many distinguished persons, including Julia Edwards and Stretch Cox. His acting career has also seen him collaborate with prominent persons. In 1961 he had a role in the movie America by Night starring Lionel Hampton.
In 1963 he joined the Original Young Brigade (OYB), Sparrow’s calypso tent. He stayed at OYB for the next 23 years as an emcee and an actor in some of its calypso skits. He was the host of Dimanche Gras for 11 years.
As a calypsonian, his biggest hit was Go Back To School and he even entered the Soca Monarch Competition in 1998 with the song The Energiser. The consummate mas player, he is well-known for portraying native American Indian, fancy sailor and African warrior in J’Ouvert celebrations.
In the jungle of concrete
Smoke and coke
Here, who cares
If you have enough bread
To by me overcoat
Ketch ass now start
Is three jobs ah wuking. Hear?
With gas, water, heat,
Light, rent, an train to pay
Book: Eye Love Myself
Excerpt taken from: To Migration
Call Number: WI 811.6 Tr
Source: Trotman, B. (2005). Eye love myself. (n. p.): Bill Trotman.
DEREK WALCOTT
Derek Walcott was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. He was born in Castries, St. Lucia and moved to Trinidad in 1953 where he worked as a theatre and art critic. In 1959 he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop which produced many of his plays. His first work of poems entitled 25 Poems, was released when he was 18 years old. His breakthrough, though, came with the publication of In a Green Night (1962). In addition to being a poet and playwright, he has authored many essays and critical studies. He was a literature and creative writing lecturer at Boston University.
Our hammock swung between Americas,
we miss you, Liberty. Che’s
bullet-riddled body falls,
and those who cried, the Republic must first die
to be reborn, are dead,
the freeborn citizen’s ballot in the head.
Still, everybody wants to go to bed
with Miss America. And, if there’s no bread,
let them eat cherry pie.
Book: Derek Walcott: collected poems 1948 - 1984
Excerpt taken from: Elegy
Call Number: WI 811.54 Wa
Source: Nobel Media AB (2014). Derek Walcott – biographical. Retrieved from https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1992/walcott-bio.html
Walcott, D. (1992). Derek Walcott: collected poems 1948 – 1984. London: Faber and Faber.
ERIC MERTON ROACH
Eric Roach first started writing poems under the pseudonym Merton Maloney around the time of World War II. By the 1960s he had accumulated an impressive collection, many of which were published in Bim, Kyk-over-Al and other journals. There were no offers of publication though, so he returned to first teaching and then to journalism, however, in 1973 he resigned to devote himself once more to writing. Many of his poems such as The Flowering Rock and Homestead have been anthologized in Sun’s Eye, Caribbean Poetry Now and Penguin Book of Caribbean Verse among other publications and are truly beloved Caribbean poems. However, a full collection of his work was not published till 1992. Entitled The Flowering Rock: Collected Poems 1938-1974, this collection of poems included his published work, early poems published under his pseudonym and his unpublished poems from the 1970s. He was posthumously awarded the Trinidad and Tobago National Hummingbird Gold Medal in 1974.
at city centre here,
in this green square
the stone men closed,
the trees stand witness
that men do not die
but grow in dreams of generations
bitter and beautiful as cedar leaves
by flooding tides of wrath and beauty
in the harsh comedy of history,
that love distills like the trees’ sap
from the disease of tyranny
and shame’s corruption
that shut up the square.
Book: 100 Poems from Trinidad & Tobago – edited by Ian Dieffenthaller and Anson Gonzalez
Excerpt taken from: City Centre
Call Number: WI 811.54 Pa
Source: Dieffenthaller, I. & Gonzalez, A. (Eds.). (2012). 100 poems from Trinidad & Tobago. Royston, United Kingdom: Cane Arrow Press.
Peepal Tree Press. (n. d.). Eric Roach. Retrieved from http://www.peepaltreepress.com/authors/eric-roach