You going Trinidad for Bocas?

Well, it doesn’t have the sweet ring of “going Trinidad for carnival” yet, but who knows . . . maybe in two or five years? Maybe if they run it during carnival? Idea eh?

This first Bocas lit fest looks like a good running start though–site up and active, schedule in place, venues set, special invites sent (yep. got mine dearie)–but if (as some allyuh say) you look at it hard, you’ll see it lil thin on big-name headliners. Don’t get us wrong, we love us our Earl Lovelace, Lorna Goodison, and Marlon James, but the line up still got some of us asking, “but is who dat dere?”

And this first fest isn’t without controversy and questionable absences. Where are hot writers Kei Miller and Karen Lord, for instance? And can we expect to see Walcott and Danticat?

(Oh well, these things are never without controversy or questions anyway.)

But here’s my belief: this lit fest is guaranteed to be exciting. Why? Simple. Straightforward. It’s Trinidad and Tobago. For many of us, it’s the home of Caribbean Beat, The Caribbean Review of Books, The Cropper Foundation’s Support for Caribbean Writers Programme, The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Alice Yard, The Allen Prize . . . Earl Lovelace, V.S. Naipaul, Derek Walcott (sometimes or many times), Raymond Ramcharitar, Jennifer Rahim, Elizabeth Nunez, and so many other acclaimed poets, novelists, artists, local, transplanted, emigrated, past and present. Trinidad and Tobago has been and continues to be a solidly sound place for inspiring and developing Caribbean arts and artists. And that is as appropriate a context for a literary festival as one can dream of.

Here’s how a typical reveler can spend his or her time enjoying the festival:

WEDNESDAY 27, April (Festival warm-up night):

LAUNCH
Introducing ARC
with Holly Bynoe and Nadia Huggins
7.00–9.00 pm • Alice Yard, 80 Roberts Street, Woodbrook
The editors of the new art and culture magazine host a one-night exhibition by featured artists, plus a poetry reading.

THURSDAY 28, April (First full day of events):

TRIBUTE
Festival Welcome + Remembering Keith Smith
with Pat Bishop, Peter Minshall, Raoul Pantin, and B.C. Pires
9.00–10.00 am • Old Fire Station
The festival officially kicks off with readings from the work of the late beloved newspaperman and literary champion Keith Smith, by his friends and colleagues.

WORKSHOP
What happens next: how to build a plot
with Marlon James and OCM Bocas Prize judge Mark McWatt
10.00 am–12.00 pm • 1st Floor Seminar Room
Two crack fiction writers lead a workshop on giving your narrative shape and momentum.

WORKSHOP
Thumbs up, thumbs down: how to write a book review
with Maya Jaggi and Nicholas Laughlin
12.30–2.00 pm • 2nd Floor Seminar Room
What exactly is a book review, and how do you write a good one? The British journalist and critic and the editor of The Caribbean Review of Books give some pointers.

THE BOCAS DEBATE
Press vs. Government: the Freedom to Print What?
with Mervyn Assam, Amery Browne, Judy Raymond, and Selwyn Ryan, chaired by Lennox Grant
4.30–6.00 pm • Old Fire Station
Two politicians face a senior journalist and political columnist in a high-level debate on the realities of press freedom in general and in Trinidad and Tobago in particular.

TRIBUTE AND LAUNCH
Celebrating 25 years of Peepal Tree Press
with Jeremy Poynting
7.00–8.30 pm • Old Fire Station
The leading publisher of Caribbean fiction and poetry celebrates its silver anniversary. Founder Jeremy Poynting talks about the history of Peepal Tree Press, plus the launch of new titles from the Peepal Tree classics series.

FRIDAY 29, April

ROUNDTABLE
Does “Caribbean literature” really exist?
with Marlon James, Jane King, Mark McWatt, and Tanya Shirley, moderated by B.C. Pires
1.30–2.30 pm • AV Room
Four authors of fiction and poetry discuss what the label “Caribbean” means for writers and readers.

POETRY
Woodbrook poetry crawl
7.00–11.00 pm • Venues in Woodbrook to be announced
Unbuttoned readings by a selection of Bocas poets, at some of Port of Spain’s most popular nightspots. Bring your friends, have a drink, lime with some of the Caribbean’s most talented poets.

SATURDAY 30, April

FICTION
Earl Lovelace
moderated by Gordon Rohlehr
11.00 am–12.00 pm • Old Fire Station
The celebrated Trinidadian writer reads from his new novel, Is Just a Movie, 2011 winner of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe Grand Prize for Caribbean Literature.

DISCUSSION
The lives of others: the privileges and perils of biography
with Edward Baugh, Patrick French, OCM Bocas Prize head judge Arnold Rampersad, and Judy Raymond, moderated by OCM Bocas Prize judge Marjorie Thorpe
1.00–2.30 pm • Old Fire Station
Four biographers — whose subjects range from Frank Collymore to V.S. Naipaul to Ralph Ellison to Richard Bridgens — read from and discuss their work.

FILM
Small Island, dir. John Alexander
2.00–5.00 pm • AV Room
An adaptation of Andrea Levy’s prize-wining novel about Jamaican immigrants to London in the 1940s.

SUNDAY 1, May

POETRY
Edward Baugh and Christian Campbell
moderated by Funso Aiyejina
10.00–11.00 am • Old Fire Station
Readings by a Jamaican and a Bahamian poet.

WORKSHOP
What every writer wants to know: how to get published
with OCM Bocas Prize judge Margaret Busby, Ken Jaikaransingh, and Jeremy Poynting
10.00 am–12.00 pm • 1st Floor Seminar Room
Three leading Caribbean publishers offer practical advice to emerging writers.

FILMS
The Hummingbird Tree, dir. Noella Smith
Making History, dir. Karen McKinnon
2.00–3.45 pm • AV Room
An adaptation of Ian McDonald’s coming-of-age novel set in 1940s Trinidad, and a lyrical short film fuelled by the poetry of two fiery poets: Édouard Glissant, and Linton Kwesi Johnson, the father of dub poetry.

Every day promises a selection of treats for all levels of interested folks. I’ll be there, and I hope to see some of you!