Nature Island Literary Festival workshop achieves its goal

NILF logoA fully packed workshop geared towards igniting interest in reading and writing among the country’s youth, is said to be achieving its goal.

The event, which was held for a few hours at the University of the West Indies Open Campus on Saturday August 3, 2013, was facilitated by world renowned author, Jane Ulysses- Grell and United Kingdom journalist Polly Pattullo, among others.

Speaking to DNO, Chairman of the Nature Island Literary Festival (NILF) Alwin Bully, said more writers are emerging.

“I think after each festival there are more people writing; people joining some of the writers’ guilds for example ‘Lyrics Under the Stars’ group and we are getting people who are utilizing their own creative imagination and taking their lives to a new level”.

He also mentioned another notable success.

“I think the biggest success has been the fact that we have been able to be sort out the other section to the children’s reading competition…the children have now an avenue for expressing themselves through reading and demonstrating their reading skills and adults have the same thing,” he stated.

Coordinator of the children’s workshop Jamie Alleyne, said the workshop aims to inspire the children to appreciate the art of writing.

“This really encompasses using literature, reading and writing in a way to change ideas, change attitudes, change to evolve any thought of change within our community and we really need to start teaching is at a young age and literature in general, reading and appreciating books and appreciating writing starts at a young age and this is the aim of the children’s workshop” she said.

“To really get children to get excited about books get them excited about stories so they have a reason to get into books. And when I say books I don’t mean books that are in paper because in this day and age you know books are on line so we want that when they go on line they are doing something constructive. They are reading they are getting involved in literature and also in writing in expressing themselves,” Alleyne added.

Author Jane Ulysses- Grell did oral storytelling and is here for a second time for the festival.

She told DNO that her storytelling encompasses music, poetry and songs and rhymes and  all the rhythms of the African,  Caribbean  traditions inspired mostly by growing up as a child in Delices and enjoying stories at night and the ring games and so on.

“But today I wore my poet’s hat and so I did some warming up ring games with them from America, New Zealand…and then I read two of my poems perform more than read my poetry is very oral…and then I set them two examples of the poetry that I read to write individually or in pairs or in groups …” she said.

The older children from 9-14 were also engaged in web design, blogging and social media, using the web to publish your own writing with Dr. Shyller Esprit.

There was also the launch of a new book “Look Back.”

This year’s Nature Island Festival and Book Fair is being held under the theme “read for change”.

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