74.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesFORUM PRESENTS PUBLISHED WRITERS AND POETS

FORUM PRESENTS PUBLISHED WRITERS AND POETS

July 24, 2002 – The Voice Inside: A Literary Group is hosting "Nurturing the Soul: A Conversation with Writers and Friends" at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, at the Virgin Islands Cultural Heritage Institute on St. Thomas.
This free writers' forum will feature Althea Romeo-Mark, an internationally published Caribbean writer and University of the Virgin Islands graduate, and three local writers in a round table discussion about the challenges of writing.
Romeo-Mark is presently teaching English as a second language at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and formerly was assistant English professor at the University of Liberia, an English instructor at Kent State University, and, much earlier, a teacher at Addelita Cancryn Junior High School in St. Thomas.
Born in Antigua in 1948, Romeo-Mark grew up in St. Thomas and attended Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School where she graduated in 1967. She earned a bachelor's degree in education and English from UVI in 1971, and a master's in literature from Kent State University in 1974. According to her biography on the "Caribbean Writer" website, Romeo-Mark "believes her desire to write was inspired by her father, Gilbert Romeo, who is a fantastic storyteller and Dr. David Gershator, her former professor of literature" at UVI.
Romeo-Mark is well known to readers of UVI's Caribbean Writer: a number of her poems have been in the annual publication. She has published four collections of poems, and her poems have appeared in several journals and anthologies. She has also received a number of literary awards, including one from the V.I. Council on the Arts. Her most recent work, "Easter Sunday, Karibia Forteller: An Anthology of Caribbean Short Stories," was published last year in Switzerland.
Local writers joining Romeo-Mark will be Daisy LaFond, a freelance writer and former magazine editor and publisher of The Virgin Islands Voice, a periodical; Tregenza Roach, a published writer and poet and the 1999 winner of the Detroit Writers' Guild fiction writing contest; and Bertica Hodge, a published poet and English teacher at Charlotte Amalie High School. Dr. Ruby Simmonds-Esannason, a retired educator and literary critic, will moderate the round table discussion.
The Voice Inside is a literary support group that provides an opportunity for local writers to share their work and experiences, and promotes creating literature in an effort to develop a dynamic community of writers in the Virgin Islands.
The forum is funded by the Virgin Islands Humanities Council. For more information call Elaine Jacobs at 714-1665.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.