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Rhyme: An Evening of Poetry, Music and Cocktails, the first official event in the 2016 NGC Bocas Literary Festival calender was held on April 9. The event was put on by First Citizens Bank as a mixer for the finalists of the First Citizens National Poetry Slam, bank members and members of the literary community.

FCB Group Corporate Communications Manager, Dexter Charles, said this is the second year the event is being held, and it serves as a preamble to the finals, where people in the Arts can mingle and network with each other informally. The event also celebrated a special milestone, as this is the fifth year that the bank is sponsoring the Poetry Slam. During the evening, presentations were made to Jean-Claude Cournand of the Two Cents Movement, who initiated the Poetry Slam years ago and founder of the Bocas Literary Festival, Marina Salandy Brown, in honour of this special occasion.
Charles said “It’s very interesting how things have grown in terms of where it is now. We always found the prizes were relatively small for these kinds of competitions, so we took the first prize to $20,000, which is substantial. More people got involved and therefore at least to us in the bank, it looks like it’s improving and growing bigger, which is what you really want. So we want more young people invested in something creative and productive, which is what this is.”
He said the Poetry Slam falls under the youth development pillar of the corporate social responsibility aspect of FCB. “This has to do with literacy and how Spoken Word is one of the productive areas through which young people can be developed. It’s very critical to encourage young people. Think about all the negative things you hear about young people, people don’t give them a chance at all, but to me it’s all about opportunity, give them an opportunity and they will make use of it. We realize sport, music and arts are change agents and those things change lives. Where is a place I could vent and show my creativity? Is there a place where I could write something and off the cuff talk about it in a creative way? Of course there is.” Charles thanked the Two Cents Movement and the NGC Bocas Lit Fest for giving FCB the opportunity to be part of the Poetry Slam.
FCB Board Member Courtenay Williams said the initiative is important because the corporate community in T&T has to place the support of culture at the top of its list as that is what is going to take care of the nation.
NGC Bocas Lit Fest Executive Director, Marina Salandy-Brown said the Poetry Slam has grown to be the largest event in the Festival’s April incarnation. “It’s a little story that goes like this. We started off in a room that holds 125 people, we had 250 people, so we moved to a bigger venue which holds 400 people, we had 600 people, so then we moved to a bigger venue that holds 1,100 people, we had 1,100 people, so we’ve been trying to get a bigger venue which holds 1,500 people but we’ve failed, but at least we can’t say we haven’t grown.”
She said through Charles’ persistence, the Globe venue has again been secured for this year’s event and she hoped that people would again come out and enjoy it. She commended the Two Cents Movement for their involvement in youth affairs, and specifically the founder, Jean-Claude Cournand, who is also the Youth Outreach Coordinator for the NGC Bocas Lit Fest.
Cournand said he was worried when he heard T&T was in a recession, because he knows that the cultural sector is often the most negatively affected during times of economic hardship. He thanked FCB and Bocas Lit Fest for believing in the Movement and helping them to grow. He also had a message for the poets present. “We don’t need 12 or 13 finalists in a Slam per se, what we really need is 12 or 13 people committed to becoming representatives, ambassadors in the craft and ambassadors for themselves, people who will stand for things, speak loudly and make a difference through what they do on-stage or off-stage. I want to challenge all the people here to find the best in your craft, go to a new level and live that throughout the year and find different opportunities and ways to create value within the craft, because we have to move on and not just be Slam poets but artists who will stand for something.”
Performances for the evening included live music by Patrice and Denice Millien, local talent featured on the online series “Uncovered Series,” as well as Freetown Collective, who performed “Jerusalem,” “I’ll be Outside,” “Light Man,” “Mama Africa,” “Go,” and “Good Swimmer.”
To find out more about the NGC Bocas Literary Festival 2016, which begins on April 23, find them on Facebook at Bocas Lit Fest or http://www.bocaslitfest.com.