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#TBT MINSHALL MAS The BLACK MADONNA From the band TAPESTRY 1997 costume design executed by my team at 6 Carlos street #whenmas had integrity#collaboration #Trinidad carnival
Nestled in the heart of downtown Port of Spain, Greyfriar's
Church marks the introduction of Presbyterianism to
Trinidad. In 1837, this church was established to serve the
British settlers, most of whom were Presbyterian Scots. The
Trinidad Presbyterian Association, formed in 1834 petitioned
the Governor, Sir Ralph Woodford for a ministry dedicated to them. Woodford was a major contributor to the development of Port of Spain in the 19th century: the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception were also built under his governorship.
THE Greyfriars Church of Scotland on Frederick Street, Port of Spain, has reportedly been sold to a private developer, and there is growing concern the building, which dates back to the 1800s, will be torn down.
There is also anger the National Trust did not move to list the church, which would have given it legal protection against such a fate.
And the family of one of the first reverends to minister at the church wants to know what will become of the graves of their ancestors, and of the church contents, which holds a part of Trinidad’s colonial history.
"It is like a bad dream. What will replace the church hall and the church itself? I pray not another glass-fronted monstrosity, centrally air-conditioned to match so much of what has been allowed to spoil the flavour of Port of Spain. If that were to be the case, it would be the proof that we are continuing our descent into a soulless, heartless, materialistic madhouse. My father and his brother, great grandsons of Reverend Brodie and elders in the church for much of their adult life, must be turning in their graves." - Jennifer De Verteuil
[from the Trinidad Express]
Photo by John Whitaker.
The blush of hibiscus bushes lightens
road’s edge, spreads over the isle’s
south shore.
The sea’s sucked out today—
the reefs exposed as altar stones.
I came home to inhale the roots
of altar stones I store in my heart,
to know again the spawning truth
the sea murmurs.
I came home to witness the land awaken
from a sudden downpour, to watch
how oleanders shrug, buttery alamandas
cup each raindrop, frangipani stiffen
then reopen in stillness as brief and full
as an evening shadow.
These rhythms, familiar as the deep
soil they grow in, reassure, call
something untouched in me to free
itself below the sun.
Wendy Fulton Steginsky is a Bermudian poet whose work has been published in two Bermuda Anthologies, And The Questions Are Enough, online, including The Wild River Review and Making Magic: Beauty in Word and Image, an exhibition and book celebrating photography and poetry at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Around here things use to give man fit
The way they does sweep bad deeds under the carpet
You and I know what I saying is true
How them does cover up what certain people do
Once you up there with rank and file
You get away clean—a tap on the wrist and a smile
Though you get catch red-handed in corruption
Like a reward you get transferred with promotion
Chor: And everything get swept—under the carpet
………..Ask Outlet ‘bout Christian Children funds—if it’s under the carpet
………..And if the forensic report tried to put anything—under the carpet
………..Like the hurricane lumber business went—under the carpet
………..Etc. etc.. etc etc ————-
Around here man use to get real vex
But had no means to take out their text
You could only grumble and take your blows
You were exclusively held in check by the likes of Mr. Rose
No matter how you frustrate stress out yourself and tug
They will sweep whatever they want to, under the rug
It’s the order of the day once you in the club
Your punishment for misdeed is transfer to a bigger job
But ’round here like things changing over
Since the advent of Radio Observer
School Children say they watching with the eyes of the Eagle
And nothing go pass—everything go get the needle
They say all the under-hand boo-bul, they go make disable
And is only clean cards they can play on top the table
From captain to cook, nobody getting no break
That’s why they investigating the video tape
Chor: Cause no longer will things be swept—under the carpet
………..No corruption cesspool can be swept under the carpet
………..Etc. etc. etc etc
- Marcus Christopher
“He was a successful businessman in the ‘import/export’ sector who doubled as a band leader (trumpeter and saxophonist) and singer. He had sung calypso as early as 1953. He remembers debuting at the Happy Acre Nightclub singing in praise of the colonial government. He initiated his writing career, seriously in 1960.
•
He shaped the lyrical content of the Antigua calypso during the decade of the sixties and continued to have impact during the seventies. He is due tremendous praise for his contribution to the maturation of Short Shirt as the most successful Antiguan calypsonian. Together they guided the modernization of Benna music [its Caribbean folk song genre] into calypso that found regional and international acceptance. ” – Dorbrene O’Marde writing in his book King Short Shirt: Nobody Go Run Me: The Life and Times of Sir Maclean Emanuel, 2014
"Good Swimma" by Q Major and Freetown
Written by Muhammad Muwakil and Lou Lyons of Freetown, Produced, mixed and mastered by : Q Major, Executive Producer : Alexa Bailey. contact: [email protected]. Director: Damian Marcano, Assistant Director: Princess Donelan. GRIP: Christopher Watson
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Behold,
single mother three children
living with her parents to survive.
A girl working two jobs,
seven days a week,
saving to go to school.
Heart-spurned lover,
abuse victim, a decade later;
trying to prove to her mother,
it’s not her fault.
Voluptuous goddess
whose partner is concerned
about blood pressure, diet,
shortness of breath.
Child in a grown body,
with a woman’s years,
trying too grab the attention of men
who look like the picture of her father.
Bag lady, your eyes tell stories
of glory, despair, success, failure
deceit, withdrawn ineptness.
Grandmother falls from her bed in the home.
Daughter does not sue—
tired of the long drives every month.
Life does not make you less beautiful.
Bermuda born Dane Swan was shortlisted for Scarborough Arts’ Monica Ladell Award in 2013. In 2011, his collection of poems Bending the Continuum (Guernica Editions) was a recommended midsummer read by Open Book Toronto. In February 2014 Dane shall be the monthly Writer-In-Residence for Open Book Toronto.