Basseterre: St. Kitts, March 23, 2021: The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC), hosted its third annual Evening of Poetry on March 22 at the CFBC Poinciana Conference Room. The event, was held in recognition of World Poetry Day which was celebrated on March 21 and also to showcase the linguistics expressions of our nationals.
The decision which proclaimed March 21 as World Poetry Day was approved in 1999 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at its 30th session which was in Paris, France. Ms. Dorothy Warner, Secretary General of the St. Kitts Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, read the World Poetry Day message from Audrey Azoulay, Director of UNESCO.
“Poems are spoken by and spoken to individuals. Because the beauty and force of poems reach towards us, we have a chance to recognize and lighten our footprint in a world where all of nature matters vitally. Arranged in words, coloured with images and struck with the right meter. The power of poetry has no match”, Ms. Warner read.
According to the message from the Director of UNESCO, poems and poetry have been a unifier during the global lockdown periods of COVID-19.
“This is the power to bring us together, to unite us around the same emotions, to allow us to escape even in lockdown. Poetry has the power to remind us of the beauty that surrounds us and the resilience of the human spirit,” said Ms. Warner.
President of CFBC, Dr Jacqueline Austin in her opening address stated, “poetry is a form of artistic expression that inspires us and captures our emotions.”
The Evening’s setting was filled with various genres of poems including, social commentary, eco-poems, religion, drama and humorous poetry that took the audience on an emotional roller coaster as they were forced to reflect, encouraged to take action and simply reminded to enjoy life.
Dr Austin noted the Evening of Poetry allows for “the expression of our emotions and the expressions of our culture and our heritage.
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