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St Thomas, USVI – 3 April

Ludlow is a cultural curator – we met in Zimbabwe nth years ago.
Colleen is a lawyer, we have known  each other from UK days.
They are married and have 2 beautiful intelligent children, Gabrielle and Asmar and live in a lovely home in the hills of St. Thomas. I stayed with them for this part of my trip.

Ludlow’s connections with the African (diaspora) art scene in Miami is like no-one else’s – he knows everyone – really. Ludlow Bailey, Managing Director at G&A International Consultants, Inc also runs Asmar Fine Arts and programmes diaspora events at the University of Miami, co-ordinating mine in Miami and St Thomas. His association with Dr. Chenzira Davis Kahina of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Cultural Center (VICCC) Director, University of the Virgin Islands- College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences – made my book visit to St Thomas successful . In the few days I was there, a reading in the evening at the university, an ad hoc but great talk to the performance lit class at USVI; and a visit talk/workshops in 2 schools, was as much fun for them, as it was for us.

In  the morning, Leslyn’s Rise and Shine breakfast programme. We teamed up – Ludlow talking about the global African citizenship; linking St Thomas to Sierra Leone and me to the Caribbean.

Reality of the Atlas

“Here is Africa; here is the West Indies and all this here is England.”

I come from somewhere in between.
This picture of the world is so huge
that I’m not exactly sure where my place is
on the map, in the world, even in my classroom.

Real Mum and Dad say we are from
someplace called Sierra Leone which means mountain lion in Italian,
named by a Portuguese explorer. As a ship sails in to port,
the mountain looks as though two lions are facing you.

“You look like a Ja – mai – can?”
But don’t we all look the same –
dark skin/thick hair/full lips/curved bums.
I trace my family tree and it lands in – Barbados!

And what of England? Where I was born, raised and schooled?
Which has taught me nothing of Africa, of the West Indies.
That showed me a map of the world without me,
or my real mum and dad.

“Where do I come from? Africa, Barbados, England – all three?”

Dr Chenzira talking about the importance of the links of the Caribbean to global citizenship,the work of the University etc. Me, with poems, linking my Uk/Africa and Caribbean links’.

In the afternoon we wen to the Montesorri school, in which they wrote a series of haikus around water – one 12 year old told me that she would rather writer a sonnet – so that’s what she did  – as well – and when I mentioned using Fela’s ‘water’as the inspiration for my SABLE issue, that took them to all sorts of places to do with water and people

Water, e not get enemy

Another girl in the class – refuted that statement and spoke of fire and tsunamis – and wrote me a series of haikus around the devastation that water can cause, but ending but with ‘water can save lives’.

In the evening, at the university, students and people from the community filed into the boardroom. The students  still had classes so as some left, others came in.  Sold all of my books; none left for BloomBars in DC  or to give to my friend Janis who I was going to meet up with before she returned to Arkansas – who said when we met,  ‘never apologise for selling books, I’ll buy my copies online’!

I encouraged them to explore the Peepal Tree  website and writers to submit manuscripts  make sure you are represented.  Ludlow in his curating role made use of IYPAd and as March has now become International women’s month instead of one day, he has alrady turned IYPAD into the  International Decade of the African diaspora!

I met some of the eminent writers on the island, Eddie Donoghue and Tregenza Roach (who is also a Senator).

Searching , challenging questions, from students, writers from within and outside of the university. I wish I’d had more copies of our RED anthology.

The following day, the EBO school with children from 5-10 years old. I used the ‘Meal Time’ poem with the 5 years, which they loved.

Along this journey, I am meeting  a powerhouse of women  in a way that I have never met them before, travelling through America and younger women who have vision and passion for their country and work and who somehow will be incorporated into the SABLE family.