BOCAS LITFEST 2015 ON BRATHWAITE

On May 6, 2015 3:46 AM, "Vladimir Lucien" wrote:

For Kamau and all: a little rundown of those who weren't there about the Brathwaite tribute and the Walcott VS Brathwaite panel [last week at Bocas]:

The Brathwaite tribute was focused on the voice of the poet. It consisted of an introduction by Kelly Baker Josephs, a tribute by Philip Nanton and a reading of the poem Sea Egg from the second trilogy. I read the poem/s Days and Nights, and in the voice of the man himself we had readings of Calypso and Negus, and in the end the pore-raising video/reading of Kumina which is on YouTube for those of you who haven't seen it. It was recorded I believe after Kamau won the Griffin Prize for Born to Slow Horses. 

The Walcott Versus Brathwaite panel was good as well. I think most panelists expressed their frustration and exhaustion with the phrase/idea of Versus. They recognized the time and ferment from which it emerged but there was general consensus that it is something we need to move away from. However, some important distinctions remain. Eddie Baugh spoke about re-reading Kamau years after the release of Rights and Arrivants, and realized how much it required a different way of reading/seeing poetry. That this poetry was not just meaning, but was doing...like a ritual. He cited a similar experience in having to read Christopher Okigbo when judging the Commonwealth Prize once. Let's hope that those who teach Kamau (like I was taught by Dr Louis Regis) are aware of these idiosyncrasies and possibilities for poetry. 

Jean Antoine Dunne also spoke about the work’s movement toward mural and the Sycorax text... Baugh read two poems livicated to Kamau also. I think that sums it up. 

They were both well-attended sessions and I'm glad that, in one way or another, I had the pleasure of being part of them both. 

Best, 
V.

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Vladimir Lucien is the author of the poetry collection Sounding Ground (2014), which won the 2015 Bocas Literary Prize.  His work has been published in several journals.