Last night I attended the event I've been anticipating for months now--the Derek Walcott event. I call it that, but I must acknowledge that there were other writers there who are heavyweights in Caribbean writing and well worth mentioning. David Dabydeen, Ian McDonald, Cynthia McLeod, Kenneth Ramchand, and Edward Baugh were all panelists at the event. But, it was definitely the Derek Walcott show.
It was a well-organized evening of reflection on the topic "Caribbean Culture at The Crossroads," and as expected, the topic generated both bright and gloomy views of the current state of the Caribbean and about its past and future. Here's a thimble-ful of the best (my opinion) of what the panelists gave us last night.
--Ian McDonald (writer/poet with multiple claims to Caribbean origins) talked first about the "dangerous crossroads" at which the Caribbean region stands. Some of those dangers he said include political falterings, economic crises, and problematic relationships between countries in the region. He ended on a cautiously optimistic note that was full of poetry, which I suppose signaled the importance of the artist as the guiding light / navigator leading the region out of those dangers.
--Cynthia McLeod (Surinamese writer) was next, and pointed to the Caribbean's long history of unity despite diversity, and the resilience of its people who have been enslaved, tricked, and ransacked. She concluded by declaring that the region's true riches--its natural resources, its mixed ethnicities, its mixed cultures--defy its "third world" classification as poor.
--Kenneth Ramchand (Trinidadian--literary critic and English Professor) then brought most of the gloom, which had an awakening effect from the lulling of McLeod's rosy optimism. The applause and mutterings in agreement from those seated around me sounded like "Well is high time somebody talk the ugly truth." Ramchand described the current condition of the Caribbean as "a society in a state of collapse," and didn't suggest much that would redeem it from its state.
--David Dabydeen (do I really need to tell you who he is again?) followed with excerpts from letters between an influential publisher--Henry Swanzey--and several writers during the 1950s, and between writers from the Caribbean who were trying to get published and trying to start writing careers outside of the Caribbean. The correspondences showed their reliance on each other for critique and support. They also helped Dabydeen emphasize the importance of a publishing company. He made a valiant, long-overdue plea for a Caribbean press.
--Edward Baugh (Jamaican--poet and English Professor) introduced Derek Walcott and tied him to the topic for the evening. He described Walcott as the "crossroads / threshold" man who from the inception sought to transcend history and say something new with his writing.
DEREK WALCOTT BAITS PRESIDENT BHARRAT JAGDEO
President Bharrat Jagdeo was at the event last night and was baited into an exchange with Derek Walcott who announced (or reiterated) his displeasure with Carifesta almost as soon as he got to the podium. Walcott explained that since Caribbean governments don't support artists and the arts, they really have nothing to celebrate in a festival of arts. The statement that Jagdeo felt he had to defend was Walcott's castigation of the huge monuments, particularly hotels, that are being constructed around the Caribbean by outsiders in an effort to accommodate tourists. Walcott said (with some exasperation) he's not really against the building of hotels, but it is important to build a museum or a theatre along with the hotel.
Walcott's statement was received with loud applause from the artist-laden room, but Jagdeo (probably feeling attacked) decided to respond with lots of talk about the cost of building roads, etc., which take priority over museums and theatres. Walcott proceeded to berate him like a child pointing out that he could well be his child since he is at least 30 years his junior, and that as his elder, he has heard all that before. (I have to admit it was quite entertaining to finally be a witness to Walcott's well-reputed griping.)
Needless to conclude, but I'll say it anyway...I had a good time folks.
On a seriously discordant note though...during the question and answer period, a young Trinidadian writer POLITELY asked why younger writers were not invited to be panelists, and was told by Cynthia McLeod that maybe one had to be of a certain age to talk about the subject. I could not believe my ears! And she was quite serious too! Well, I'll say here what I wanted to but did not say there: Cynthia McLeod is an ass for saying that. Since when was old age a requirement for an intelligent discourse on the subject of where you live? McLeod's response was unbelievably stupid and disrespectful to the young woman, and somebody on that panel (maybe Al Creighton, who chaired the panel) should apologize to her.
Anyway, on I go. Tonight I'm off to the Umana Yana for some readings.
