Poetry Party at Fig Tree Restaurant
28 May 2012 | Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Elizabeth (photo by Sheron Garraway)
We attended a "poetry party" at the Fig Tree Restaurant which was put together by Cheryl Johnson in collaboration with The University of the West Indies Open Campus. She invited numerous well-known SVG poets and dramatists, then opened the mike to any other poets in the audience. Cheryl had learned I was a poet when Ed told her--I would not have mentioned it nor would I have offered to read anything, but once she found out, she nearly insisted I bring something to share during the evening. When I balked, she asked me to tell her why. I hesitated because I wasn't really sure myself, but as I thought about it, I realized that while poetry has been an important component of my life for many, many years, it has also been associated with more troubling times. My poetry is tucked away for safe-keeping but sometimes it's painful reading about times that were less than ideal. Cheryl asked me to come, said she hoped I would read, and so I dug out three pieces that I felt comfortable sharing with strangers in a foreign country and did just that. My voice was shaking as I took the stage, looking out into a small audience who didn't know anything about me. Later, Cheryl honored me by including me among the guests she was thanking and told everyone the story of meeting us, why I hesitated about reading, etc. She then said, "We hope Elizabeth and Mr. Elizabeth will return next year with more poems to read on Poetry Party night". I was humbled by the experience. But mostly, I loved hearing the local poets, learning about the culture through their work and enjoying such a rich and lively evening. We thank Cheryl for making us feel welcome in her community. After the readings when the audience went home, she asked us to stay with the invited guests to eat some of their delicious food, along with the best passion fruit drink you can imagine (non-alcoholic).