Poets organise to promote wider support
It’s flourishing in our schools, on the stage, and in the streets. Poetry is making a comeback in Belize and no people are more pleased than those who met this morning at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
There were far more people seated at the head table than in the audience, but today?s official inauguration of the Belizean Poets Society is a significant step for writers. It is the first time that poets of all ages from across the country are coming together to support each other?s talent and generate a wider appreciation for poetry.
Margaret Arana, 2nd Vice President, B.P.S.
?I could speak from my experience. Coming up writing poetry there was no support for me at all, it?s just my immediate family saying, your poem is good. No one to really go to and ask their opinion or what to do next.?
That common sentiment is what prompted six such talented individuals to organise themselves into a group seven months ago. Today, B.P.S. says it has just over twenty registered members.
Adele Ramos-Daly, President, Belize Poets Society
?It?s not a big society right now, but they are a group of committed people, they are people who have been at the core of what has been happening in the poetry scene since last year. People like Erwin X, Kalilah Enriquez, Orson Elrington, Margaret Arana. So there are all these core people who have come together, put their ideas together to basically develop the foundation.?
B.P.S. says as the organisation grows, the service it provides is subject to change based on the needs of the artists; but there are guidelines for members that outline how they want the society to progress for the advancement of poetry.
Adele Ramos-Daly
?In terms of we want to help poets to publish their work if that is what they want to do, we have the support system for that. If poets want to showcase their work, if they want to network regionally and internationally, again, we have set up the frame work for that.?
B.P.S. Second Vice President and poet Margaret Arana, says B.P.S. will help to build the awareness that she believes is needed.
Jacqueline Woods
?Is there a market out there for the work that you guys do??
Margaret Arana
?Yes there is, but you need to find them and this is one way that it can be found. People will know that if they need to know anything about poetry or any writers, they can turn to the society for information.?
If you would like more information about B.P.S., you can contact them through their email address belizeanpoets@gmail.com. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.
B.P.S. plans to hold a number of activities throughout the year. One is a Poetry Festival on April seventh at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts. B.P.S. would also like to remind all persons eighteen years and older of this Friday’s edition of Lyrical Lounge at the Putt Putt Bar and Grill. The performance starts at eight p.m. On Saturday afternoon at two, younger poets are invited to participate in an audition on the green, also at Putt Putt.
