skirting the periphery

[Yasmin Sierra Montes, elhabanero, November 8th 2008]:

The beautiful open air spaces sang in verses by Nosside de Locri, 2000 years ago, are now in the transparent waters of the Caribbean. Nosside Caribbean Prize awards every year the best of the poetry written in world’s spaces. That is why in its XXIV edition, convoked in Havana and with the participation of a remarkable number of Cuban poets, it was granted a Special Award, two Particular Awards and six Mentions, besides three Recognitions.

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[Taiwain Times, November 15th 2008]:

The ninth Taipei Poetry Festival hopes to infuse the spirit of poetry into the daily lives of the residents of the busy capital city when it opens Saturday, the Taipei Culture Foundation said Friday.

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[Graham Brazier, nzherald.com.au, November 2nd 2008]:

Alistair Te Ariki Campbell and Meg Campbell are names that will be familiar to most poetry enthusiasts – between the two, this couple have an impressive volume of work.

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[John & Shelley, from the blog 'Istoria Timor', July 6th 2008]:

Hi there,

This is our new blog to chart the development of the Istoria Lorosae project. Istoria is a Portuguese loan word meaning story or stories, and Lorosae literally means rising sun, but is generally used to mean “east” in Tetum; so: Stories from the East. The project, broadly, is focused on literacy in Timor Leste. Specifically, we hope that it will encourage young Timorese to read and (hopefully) to write.

We’re still working on the concept note at the moment but, in a nutshell, we’re hoping that we can play a key role in the publishing of the first novel ever published in Tetum. A lofty goal to be sure; but we’re hoping we can give it a big kick in the right direction with just a few hundred bucks and a bit of (hopefully free) promotion. From then on we’ll need to start fundraising, but if the prior stages go as well as we hope, it (hopefully) shouldn’t be too hard.

So, this blog is intended to report on any progress we make, any events we hold and just generally anything we feel is peripherally related to literacy in Timor Leste.

Anyway, we’ll keep you posted.

John & Shelley

[Kumudini Hettiarachch, The Sunday Times, November 2nd 2008]:

Way back in the ’70s a single stunning piece of jewellery in the museum moved Anne Ranasinghe, internationally renowned poet and short-story writer, to write a poem dedicated to the women of Sigiriya.

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[Siteri Sauvakacolo, Fiji Daily Post, October 15th 2008]:

IT is extremely important that the civil society should appreciate the facts that many who end up as prisoners were the victims of the soullessness, the lack of understanding and the lack of compassion in society.

These were the words of veteran social worker Paula Sotutu as he officiated at the opening of the Suva Prison’s Tagimoucia Art Gallery and launch of the prisoners’ creative writing book, Shedding Silences at the Suva Prison yesterday.

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[Francine Buchner, Jamaica Gleaner, November 2nd 2008]:

“You cannot call yourself a poet and not read poetry,” said Johnson. “It is important for young writers to read and experiment.” He said, though, that this is habit that no longer exists in Jamaica. “Technology has changed rap and dance-hall music, genres whose roots originate with reggae, ska and rocksteady,” he said.

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[Petamber Persaud, Antigua Sun, November 4th 2008]:

Greetings from Guyana.

Could you now please invest a ‘small change’ in Caribbean cultural industry? The arts can do with a financial injection.

For literary arts we need an enhanced writers’ workshop, a Caribbean publishing house, and a Caribbean literature prize. Sir, you would not be disappointed.

There are many initiatives, failed literary ventures, and dormant enablers awaiting the right sort of boost. For instance, right under your nose, dear Sir, in Antigua, a colleague of mine had to abort a Caribbean poetry explosion.

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[The Earth Times, October 28th 2008]:

Danish author Naja Marie Aidt on Tuesday accepted the 2008 Nordic Council Literature Prize, worth 350,000 kroner (59,000 dollars). In remarks at the award ceremony, Aidt referred to her childhood in Greenland where she was born in 1963, recalling the distinct contrasts between light and darkness during different seasons.

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[Ng Yi-Shing, from the blog 'Ng Yi-Sheng's Careerblog', October 3rd 2008]:

My money’s on Wena Poon winning for Lions in Winter, but I’ve only just started on her book so I can’t be sure. Also, why the hell didn’t Cyril Wong get nominated for Tilting the Plates to Catch the Light? (Did he not enter his book?)

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