Download: Queens Literary Festival 2019
Dr. Dhanpaul Narine
By Dr. Dhanpaul Narine
Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273) said, ‘You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop.’ This profound, and mystical expression led many to drink deeply from the well of poets and sages.
The Queens Literary Festival and Book Fair was founded over a year ago to bring to the public the works of writers and artists. In June last year, over 40 authors from around the world gathered in Queens to read from their writings. In the ensuing months, programs were held on women as change-makers and trailblazers and a tribute was dedicated to V.S Naipaul. The June 2019 program saw students and their parents participating in poetry, the arts and the spoken word.
By the end of the presentations, Rumi, Hafiz, Tagore, Maya Angelou, Pablo Neruda, Inez del a Cruz, Reuben Dario, Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, Langston Hughes, Martin Carter, and others, would have been proud. A diverse audience celebrated poetry and the arts with elan and a reverence for literature. It was indeed a celebration of the imagination.
The participants were from a number of different countries and at the end of the program everyone voted for a repeat performance later in the year. There are numerous persons to thank for a program of such magnitude including Ms. Rebecca Alibatya and the staff of Queens Library, Hillside and Jamaica Branch, for their munificence and generosity. We present pictorial highlights of a magnificent program.
