Sint Maarten’s Book Fair is probably the coolest book fair on the planet. Not only does it showcase local authors, it also features many activities and seminars. I was so glad to be able to go to one of the days!
My friend Lisa knows about all the cool stuff to do on the island. She writes the Weekender section of The Daily Herald, so she knows all the events and goes to experience them and take photos. She sometimes invites me to go along with her, and I always have a great time!
There were several local authors who set up booths at the fair. I got to meet a couple of them:
This is Montague Kobbe. He writes historical fiction novels that are set in St. Martin and the surrounding Caribbean islands. I really wanted to buy one, but that will have to wait for a season of life when I have a real job. The books have good reviews, and I’m looking forward to reading them someday.
This is Heddrick McBride. He writes children’s books with main characters who look like Caribbean kids. If you’ve ever looked at the children’s section at the library, you may have noticed that most of the kids in the books are white. Very few feature black families or Caribbean culture. Mr. McBride saw that need and filled it. It’s awesome for the kids on the island to have good books about kids who look like them! You can find his books online here.
We use some of his books at Player Development SXM as reading material for the kids we tutor. As you can see, they enjoy them!
Roland and Laura Richardson were also there, selling the cookbook from Temptations Cafe that Roland illustrated with his paintings. Some of Laura’s poems are in there, too!
After visiting with the authors, I followed Lisa to a poetry reading under the gazebo. It was actually more like spoken word, and I had a great time! I wished that I had planned ahead and brought a poem to read, too. Lisa read a poem in public for the first time ever! It was really good.
We managed to catch the last seminar of the event. It was about how science fiction drives science fact. The panel discussed topics like technology, the mind, and how today’s ideas shape the destiny of the future. It made me a little sad that my master’s degree is online. I forgot how much I miss listening to and discussing academic lectures. It was a privilege to hear ideas from some of Sint Maarten’s great minds.
If you’re in Sint Maarten next June, be sure to check out the book fair! I’m sad that we’ll be gone before then, but I’m so glad I could be a part of it this year.
