The Cropper Foundation

Support for Caribbean Writers

Through its Support for Caribbean Writers programme, The Cropper Foundation seeks to contribute to the literature of the region by creating opportunities for instruction, appraisal and intellectual debate for aspiring writers. Since 2000, a three-week residential workshop each year has been The Foundation's main vehicle for achieving these objectives. Undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Creative and Festival Arts, UWI these workshops have given some thirty writers the benefit of the guidance of established writers and scholars like Merle Hodge, Funso Aiyejina, Rachel Manley, Earl Lovelace, and Ken Ramchand.
Other activities in this programme include a survey of the reading habits of young adults and a panel discussion on the theme The Role of Literature in Shaping Caribbean Civilisation.

These efforts are humble attempts to make an input into the development of the enormous cultural and artistic potential of the Caribbean.

Already, after just three workshops, we have glimpses of what can be achieved. Last year, 22 year old Ruel Johnson, a participant in our first workshop, became the youngest winner of the prestigious Guyana prize. The Trinidad Guardian's reporter of the year 2002, Robert Clarke was Ruel's roommate at the workshop. Robert wrote his first short story in order to apply for a place at the workshop. We are inspired and encouraged by these young writers and their commitment to their craft.
But the tutelage of the few is only one point on a continuum of needs if we are to make a concerted and holistic effort to grow a Caribbean literary industry. We need to better understand and encourage the region's readers, thereby stimulating the demand for quality material that must be met by ongoing training, publishing opportunities and access to libraries and affordable book retailers. Of these needs, we have used our modest resources to offer some guidance and create a space for dialogue but there is much more to be done.

At the heart of our Support for Caribbean Writers programme is the desire to contribute to the literature of the region by encouraging developing talent. An ongoing lament of many Caribbean writers is the want of opportunity to pursue their craft locally. In spite of this the region has managed to produce some of the finest literary voices of our time. Their skills were honed and in many cases first heard outside the region but they resonate with the diversity, colour and drama of these people and their many cultures.
Nor have we always been bereft of space and audience for local writers. In the 1930's and 40's short stories and poetry appeared regularly in the daily newspapers. The 1950's saw the burgeoning of a host of literary journals like Bim, The Beacon, Kyk-Over-Al and the Minerva Review. By the (?) all but Guyana's Kyk-Over-Al had disappeared.
But for the generation of young writers that followed, the opportunities had all but vanished.

In 2000, The Cropper Foundation decided to host its first residential writers' workshop. From aspiring writers to university professors, publishers and readers, we all felt that the problem of writing in the Caribbean was far greater than just the lack of publishing opportunities. Publication is almost the last stage in process of creating literature. The place for us to start seemed to be at the other end; with mentoring. Through our partnership with the Centre for Creative and Festival Arts at the University of the West Indies we have now been able to offer three workshops, one each year since 2000, as a three-week residential programme. The generous contributions of time and guidance of the University's Funso Aiyejina and Merle Hodge have given shape and substance to the kind of programme we felt could begin to make a difference in the lives and work of developing writers.

In 2002 we hosted the third of these workshops in Trinidad, in Grande Riviere on the island's stunning north-east coast. Participants came from Grenada, Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana and the UK. Their programme consisted of time for independent work and the opportunity for both peer review and the experienced tutelage of the facilitators. The writers also benefited from the experience of visiting speakers like Trinidadian novelist Earl Lovelace and Jamaican writer Rachel Manley.
At the end of 2002, we decided that there would not be a 2003 workshop. We would instead use the time to work on developing new ideas.

The Panel Discussion: The Role of Literature in Shaping Caribbean Civilisation
In an effort to extend the parameters of our support for writers and writing, TCF wanted to engage a wider literary community: not just aspiring writers but teachers, critics, journalists, book sellers and readers.

The public was invited to a panel discussion on the theme The Role of Literature in Shaping Caribbean Civilisation. An afternoon proved just enough to scratch the surface. Our idea of who we are and how we write our narratives bears considerable discussion - and it is a discussion many are willing to engage in. Near 200 people arrived on a rainy Saturday afternoon to listen to Earl Lovelace, Rachel Manley and literary critic Kenneth Ramchand and to share their own views. Apart from a sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences, this was a theme in search of definitions: What constitutes our literature? What is this process of shaping - how are we shaped and how, in turn, do we shape? And of course, perhaps the most elusive definition of all - what is this thing we might refer to as Caribbean civilisation?

That no conclusions could be arrived at was beside the point: of far greater significance was the dialogue and debate generated. Like many of our efforts, we recognise the limited scope of what our discrete activity might hope to accomplish. But it is a start and our hope with this as with all our programmes is that it will catalyse further thinking and inspire others to contribute to this body of understanding.