ates of the Caribbean” and the muchloved
music-centered interview, “I
Belong to the House of Music,” hosted
by Attillah Springer, Loopnews said.
It said the festival added a new
award for writers in the Caribbean to
its existing Caribbean-American writing
award.
The winners of the competition will
be announced later this month.
Carded for Sept. 10 – 13, 2020,
Loopnews said this year’s festival
features “writing heavyweights”
– Kei Miller, Gerard Besson, Dimitry
Leger, Curdella Forbes, Patricia Powell
and Ernesto Quinonez, John R.
Lee, Ifeona Fulani, Ingrid Persaud and
Monique Roffey.
Invited authors, poets and artists
worldwide will participate in a creatively
designed virtual program of
readings, panels and performances,
Loopnews said.
It said the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary
Festival is the brainchild of Marsha
Fashion designer E.B. John Funeral set for Sept. 21
Continued from Page 23
Caribbean L 24 ife, Sept. 11-17, 2020
Massiah, and is
being supported and
executed as a partnership
with Community
Revitalization Partnership
(CRP).
The BCLF said it
is “a celebration of
culture as expressed
through the pen of
the storyteller and
the voice of the poet.
“Our platform is
designed to facilitate
vibrant conversations
about Caribbean
identity via a series
of readings of classic
and contemporary
A photo from the 2019 Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. BCLF
stories, workshops,
events,” it said in a statement. “The
highlight of our work is the annual
capstone festival which is supported
by ever-evolving year-long programming.
“The BCLF is keen on exploring the
rich depth of Caribbean culture and
its centuries’ long tradition of storytelling,
with the hopes of empowering
and motivating the hidden storyteller
of Caribbean descent to find the courage
to tell his/her own story and write
from the unique lens of that heritage,”
it added. “It also exists to promote
the Caribbean literature genre
to cultural enthusiasts, bibliophiles
and lit-lovers.”
“Like most industries, the
pandemic has forced them to
rethink their business strategy
and, as an independent
designer, I had to pivot quickly
to figure out a way to ensure
the brand remains sustainable
and continues to grow,”
March added. “With that in
mind, I sought to leverage
my relationships in Ghana to
undertake this project which
is in keeping with our vision of
making the brand’s presence
stronger in the international
market.”
March said Ghana holds a
special place in his heart as his
previous collection, “Sankofa
by D’Marsh”, Fall 2018/2019,
was inspired by one of his visits.
He said that undertaking
such a project at this time
has not been without its challenges,
but is looking forward
to the experience.
“I hope to learn a lot from
this visit and get to understand
the international market and
what is required to grow and
promote an independent brand
in the African market,” March
said.
“I will get the opportunity
to meet with logistics partners
and determine how I will
be better able to position the
brand to explore the global
market,” he added.
Continued from Page 23
A look at Glenroy March’s collection. Photo courtesy: Glenroy
March/House of D’Marsh
By Nelson A. King
The funeral service for veteran
Vincentian broadcaster
Evans Bernard John is scheduled
for Sept. 21, at the Kingstown
Methodist Church in St.
Vincent and the Grenadines,
according to his sister, Celia
Bramble, a retired Registered
Nurse in Brooklyn.
John, popularly known as
“E.B.”, was found dead at his
home in Evesham in the Marriaqua
Valley in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, on Aug.
19, said Bramble, also retired
US Army Reserve Colonel
and former Associate Executive
Director of Training and
Organizational Development
at the sprawling Kings County
Hospital in Brooklyn. John
was 69.
Bramble told Caribbean Life
on Monday that tributes will
begin at Kingstown Methodist
Church on Sept. 21, at 2:00 p.m.,
and the funeral service will follow
at 3:00 p.m.
Immediately afterwards, John
will be interred at the Kingstown
Cemetery, Bramble said.
She said her younger brother
was visiting St. Vincent and the
Grenadines on vacation, from
Toronto, Canada, where he
resided, when he was found dead
in his Vincentian home.
John was a former general
manager of the National Broadcasting
Corporation (705 FM
Radio) in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, from 1987 to 1997;
ex-Consul General of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines to Canada;
and erstwhile Chief Liaison
Officer for the sub-regional
Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) Farm Workers
Program in Canada.
“I am deeply saddened by
the passing of my brother,”
Bramble said. “I am also comforted
in knowing that he lived
a remarkable life – a life of love
and kindness, a life of courage
and compassion, a life of humor
and inspiration.
“We must remember, all of us
must remember, that E.B. has
died, but more importantly, he
has lived,” she added.
Sandra John, another elder
sister, who lives in Trinidad and
Tobago, told Caribbean Life that
“St Vincent and the Grenadines
is mourning the loss of a beloved
icon of the radio broadcast
industry.”
“But, to the many persons
that knew and loved him, Evans
Bernard John, or E.B., as he was
affectionately known, from Mar.
13, 1951 to Aug.19, 2020, was so
much more – diplomat, regional
public servant, community
activist, cultural ambassador,
sports enthusiast, calypsonian,
mentor, family man and friend,”
Sandra said.
At the time of his death, she
said her brother was working
on his memoirs, “describing his
effort as ‘an attempt to deal with
the dash (-)’, connecting the
date of his birth to the date of
his passing.”
BK LITERARY FEST
Veteran Vincentian broadcaster E.B. John.
Photo courtesy: Celia Bramble