Derek Walcott’s Poetry at Culture Plaza of 2008 Book Fair

D erek Walcott, as 1992 Nobel Prize winner for literature, led a discussion at the 11th International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2008. Culture Minister José Rafael Lantigua, introduced the West Indian poet and dramatist to the audience at the Culture Hall in the National Theater on Wednesday, April 30.

His own story, he said, is the same as that of the Caribbean people, the story of the dispossessed, exiled, as were the Africans, the Spanish, the Indians.

Speaking in the packed hall, Mr. Walcott talked about one of his best-known poems “Omeros” (modern Greek for Homer) which captures his vision of the ethnic diversity and culture that converge in the Caribbean and, above all, the return to the origins that mark the existence of its inhabitants.

He spoke about his poem and its character, Achilles, which have formed part of Walcott’s essential poetic discourse: the mental journey required of the people of the Caribbean in search of their identity. His own story, he said, is the same as that of the Caribbean people, the story of the dispossessed, exiled, as were the Africans, the Spanish, the Indians.

Walcott drew applause when he said that one of the first actions of dictators when they take power is to eliminate the poets “because they alter the status quo” by not submitting to the powers imposed by the state.

This internationally famous poet of the Antilles talked about his work as a writer and the self-imposed discipline necessary to remain at the helm of his own creative enterprise. He confessed that each day is another critical phase as a writer. To have a mentor, when beginning in the world of writing, is also a fundamental step for him regardless of whether he continues to follow or imitates an author of other generations.

Speaking about poetry and being black, in response to a question, Walcott recalled that the history of the Caribbean is full of shameful episodes derived from self-disdain that have provoked colonialism in the blacks and mulattos of the region. Walcott spoke about having had the honor of meeting Junot Díaz, Dominican writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, the night before. He said he was happy that Mr. Díaz was awarded the Pulitzer not for being Dominican but because of the book he wrote. “It is a colonialist attitude to be happy about a prize winner because he is Dominican,” he said, adding that a prize should be awarded for the quality of the work.

Derek Walcott:

Derek Walcott was born in Castries, Santa Lucia in 1930. He did his university studies in Santa Lucia then later in Jamaica. Between 1959 and1976, he directed the successful Trinidad Theater Workshop. In 1981, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts and taught for a time at Harvard. In 1992, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His visit to the 11th International Book Fair of Santo Domingo 2008 is part of the activities around this year’s dedication to and honoring of the Association of Caribbean States.

In Walcott’s words:

“The Caribbean is not an idyll, not to its natives. They draw their working strength from it organically, like trees, like the sea almond or the spice laurel of the heights. Its peasantry and its fishermen are not there to be loved or even photographed; they are trees who sweat, and whose bark is filmed with salt…”