The second annual Palaver International Literary Festival in August 2016 acknowledged the work and accomplishments of four outstanding individuals Hon. Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley, OM, OJ, MBE, (a.k.a. Miss Lou), Mr. Carlos Malcolm, Dr. Rita Cox.and Dwayne Morgan. At the first Palaver Awards Dinner, held at the RecPlex in Wasaga Beach on August 6, 2016, awards […]
There were moments when laughter pierced the air. And there were moments of great emotion and tears. There were moments when poets and novelists read from their published works. And there were those moments when they put the book down and, in candid, unrehearsed talk with host Mike Jarrett, shared really personal experiences in life’s […]
Nights were usually long and dark, except for flashing moments of brilliant blue hue when lightning raked tropical skies and thunder made the ground shudder under bare calloused feet. However, pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Caribbean isles had more than violent tropical storms about which to be concerned. Archaeological studies at White Marl in Jamaica and […]
Distinguished pianist and composer, Orville Hammond, has confirmed his performance at the Palaver 2016 Awards Dinner in Wasaga Beach on August 6. He flies in from his native Jamaica to join the Heritage Singers at the annual Palaver Literary Festival. The Palaver Awards Dinner this year falls on the 54th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence and […]
A lawyer by training and currently a research student specializing in terrorism, peace and mediation, Samuel Tabi (alias Othello) comes to Palaver 2016 with the heart, passion, conviction and dedication of a writer. A poet, playwright, literary critic and story teller, Samuel Tabi Tanyi-Mbianyor, who arrived in Canada in 2008, discovered a penchant for writing […]
Caribbean-Canadian novelist Horane Smith will host a writers’ workshop ‘First Steps to Becoming a Writer’ at the Palaver Literary Festival on Sunday, August 7 in Wasaga Beach. The workshop, for persons seriously considering writing and publishing, will be held at the festival site at Wasaga Beach Area 4, starting at 9.30 am. Horane Smith has […]
I write because I must By Mike Jarrett When young Garfield Ellis came to the realisation that he would be a writer, he knew he could not become one, at least not immediately. People like him – who lived where he lived, where life was so marginal that the pangs hunger demanded desperate survival strategies […]
Thirty and more years ago when Grace Carter-Henry Lyon thought about establishing a musical ensemble that would give life to the history recorded in the traditional folk songs of the Caribbean, she was acutely cognizant of the importance of achieving excellence. As a member of the Jamaican Folk Singers in the land of her forefathers, […]
Award-winning poet, Lorna Goodison has confirmed her participation at Palaver 2016, to be held over two days, August 6 and 7, in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada. One of the most admired and accomplished poets of the Caribbean, Professor Lorna Goodison comes to Palaver with an international reputation, a stellar bibliography and a string of awards […]
Writing has helped bring me back to life By Mike Jarrett The life of Cynthia Reyes is a story of unrelenting determination and ultimate triumph. Seriously injured in a car accident, the journalist and award-winning broadcaster witnessed in helpless horror as her stellar career and a happy family life seemed to crumble. It was on […]
