Rough Tides, Tough Times: Reflections and Transitions was the theme of the 2018 US Virgin Islands Literary Festival and Book Fair hosted at the University of the Virgin Islands Albert A. Sheen Campus, St. Croix Virgin Islands on Friday, April 13th and Saturday, April 14th, 2018. A Benefit Event that brought together literary artists, culture bearers, musicians, historians and others who together celebrated various expressions of the Caribbean and African Diaspora.
2018 Lit Fest Flyer
“Here we are on the other side of two category 5 hurricanes; but, despite present and profound challenges, we are determined to keep the VI Literary Festival and Book Fair going. Because we recognize that funding is problematic for everyone, we considered it wise to truncate our event somewhat… This significantly scaled-back experience will feature fewer guest presenters and activities but all the dynamism and promise of the three previous festivals.”
From VILitFest2018 Press Release
Featuring interactive workshops, panel discussions, author readings, writing competitions, open mic poetry and light refreshments.
Dr. Vincent O. Cooper and Elaine Jacobs facilitated a lecture/discussion on the St. Thomas campus featuring keynote speaker Dr. Lewis Gordon and Dr. Paget Henry speaking on the subject of Afro-Caribbean Philosophy, Literature, and Culture.
At the same time, on St. Croix, the Author Cavalcade went into the schools on Friday morning to engage in culturally relevant, interactive literary workshops.
That afternoon, Caribbean films “We Carry It Within Us” and “Culture Clash” were shown in the UVI AAS Great Hall.
In the evening, the Book Bacchanal and Reception was held at Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted, St. Croix.
Saturday morning’s Bush Tea Morning Social included breakfast, storytelling, live performances, keynote address, featured UVI/VI author book signing, brown bag lunch, host of literary/creative art workshops and much more.
Bush Tea Morning Social
Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights by Federal Librarian Aesha Duval
Poetry class with Tiphanie Yanique
Presenters included: Jamaica Kincaid, Dr. Paget Henry, Tobias Buckell, Tiphanie Yanique, Dr. Marilyn F. Krigger, Dr. Lewis Gordon (Keynote), Sharon Lewis, Summer Edward, Mario Picayo, Ayesha Duval, Dr. Ellen Foster and others!
(2018 #VILitFest Press Release)
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