St. Martin’s author Lasana M. Sekou conducted the Spoken Word workshop and was a publishing panelist at the VI Literary Festival & Book Fair, which ended in St. Croix last Sunday, said Jacqueline Sample, president of House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP).
“Lasana M. Sekou (was) tremendous in his presentation. … The VI Lit Fest was honored by his presence,” said Dr. Simon B. Jones Hendrickson, chairman of the festival.
“On Thursday, Lasana used YouTube videos of his performances, live reading of a participant’s work and of a poem from his own upcoming book in an overview presentation of reading styles, symbolism in poetry, spoken word structures, and other features of verse,” said Sample.
According to Sekou, “The workshop participants were especially interested in discussing how and when a poet feels or knows that it’s the time or place to write, or what to write about.” Sekou is the projects director at HNP, an indie press here that has published his work and that of new and noted authors from different parts of the world.
Dr. ChenziRa Kahina, head of the UVI Virgin Islands Caribbean Cultural Center, facilitated the “Spoken Word” workshop.
The publishing panel at UVI Great Hall on Saturday consisted of Yona Deshommes, a New York publicist from Simon & Schuster; Caribbean Reads publisher Carol Mitchell; and Sekou, sharing with the audience pointers and insights about how to get a book published.
Dr. Jones Hendrickson, who is also an economist, facilitated the presentation, which was entitled, “So You Want To Publish Your Work (Digital and Print)?” The speakers touched on what editors and publishers look for in a manuscript, the importance of having an agent, writing about what you know, and knowing and respecting your market of readers, said Sample.
The award-winning novelist Dr. Elizabeth Nunez delivered the keynote address of the second edition of the five-day VI Literary Festival & Book Fair, which opened on April 20. Presenters included over 30 authors, scholars, educators, filmmakers, kaisonians, and publishers such as Earl Lovelace, Nicole Phillip-Dowe, Camille Macedon, Asha Lovelace, Tobias Buckell, Awin Bully, Howard and Mitzi Allen, Lise Bostrup, Velma Pollard, Keithlyn B. Smith, Rosalind Kilkenny, David Edgecombe, and Ida Does.