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<div><span style="font-size: medium;">Join us fo</span><span style="font-size: medium;">r the Cleveland Premier of <strong>"Poetry is an
Island,"</strong> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">a beautiful new </span><span style="font-size: medium;">feature documentary about the life and</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">work of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">St. Lucian </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Nobel Laureate, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">poet, playwright and painter, <br><strong>Derek
</strong></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Walcott</strong> at
</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Karamu House</strong> on
<strong>Sunday, </strong></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>August
17th, </strong></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>from </strong></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>2 to 5 pm</strong>. </span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">Walcott was born on a small Caribbean
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">island </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of </span>African,
English </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">and Dutch descent, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">raised by his </span><span style="font-size: medium;">single </span><span style="font-size: medium;">mother
after his father </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">died, self published </span><span style="font-size: medium;">his first book </span><span style="font-size: medium;">of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">poems and
went on to </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">become a world </span><span style="font-size: medium;">renowned </span><span style="font-size: medium;">writer </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">reaching the level of Nobel Laureate.
</span></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He is
regarded as the voice of the people of </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">the Caribbean. In 2004, </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">Walcott received a Lifetime Achievement
Award from the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Anisfield-Wolf
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">Book Awards, which recognizes writers who
make important </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">contributions </span><span style="font-size: medium;">to our understanding of racism and human
diversity.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/2014/07/derek-walcott-documentary-poetry-is-an-island-to-premiere-at-karamu-house/" target="_blank">http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/2014/07/derek-walcott-</a></span></strong></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/2014/07/derek-walcott-documentary-poetry-is-an-island-to-premiere-at-karamu-house/" target="_blank">documentary-poetry-is-an-island-to-premiere-at-karamu-house/</a></span></strong></span></div></div>
<div><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">The program will include live St. Lucian
Steelpan music and a <br>staged excerpt </span><span style="font-size: medium;">from </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the Derek
Walcott play "Dream on Monkey Island," </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">which was produced at Karamu to much
acclaim in 2007. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Following </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">80 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">minute
feature documentary a</span><span style="font-size: medium;">bout </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Walcott's work </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">life in
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">St Lucia, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">audience members will be able to ask
questions </span><span style="font-size: medium;">of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">director of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">film,
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Ms. Ida Does, by Skype, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">from her home in </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">The Netherlands.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;">Tickets at the door ($12) <br>All proceeds
going to Karamu House.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>"Poetry is an Island"</strong>
flyer attached. </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sponsored by the
</span></strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>the
</strong></span><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards,
</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">presented by
</span></strong></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">the
</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Cleveland
</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Foundation</span></strong></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>More about the
film:</strong></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"><em>"Derek Walcott, Poetry is an
island,</em> is a feature documentary film about </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">Nobel </span><span style="font-size: small;">laureate, poet, playwright, and visual artist, Derek
Alton Walcott </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">(1930). </span><span style="font-size: small;">The film </span><span style="font-size: small;">depicts
an intimate portrait of Walcott, as we visit his art </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">studio, his childhood home, </span><span style="font-size: small;">and his current residence in St. Lucia. It
also </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">includes exclusive archive material
</span><span style="font-size: small;">from the Nobel Prize Festivities in 1992.
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, and perhaps most </span><span style="font-size: small;">importantly, </span><span style="font-size: small;">this
</span><span style="font-size: small;">film is about Walcott’s
poetry.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">Derek Walcott grew up in St.
Lucia–Castries–in a small family. His father </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">died when </span><span style="font-size: small;">he was very young, and so, Derek, his twin brother
Roderick, </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">and their sister </span><span style="font-size: small;">Pamela, were raised by their single mother. Walcott is
of </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">African, English and Dutch </span><span style="font-size: small;">descent. He grew up in an artistic ambiance,
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">his father being a painter and writer,
</span><span style="font-size: small;">and his mother–a teacher–encouraging
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">him from early on to write
poetry.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">In <em>Po</em><em>etry is an island</em> we
share Caribbean moments with Walcott as we </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">visit some </span><span style="font-size: small;">of his favorite places, his studio, and St. Lucia home.
We travel </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">through St. Lucia </span><span style="font-size: small;">and encounter childhood friends whose ‘lives became
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">poetry’ through Walcott’s </span><span style="font-size: small;">work. We discover the anger and frustration that
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">the poet holds against the </span><span style="font-size: small;">downtime of the arts as he talks to us about the
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">meaning of poetry to him </span><span style="font-size: small;">personally, and about the significance of art for
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">humanity. Family members reveal </span><span style="font-size: small;">some of the poet’s life challenges, and </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">people who have worked with him speak
</span><span style="font-size: small;">frankly about their experiences
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">with Walcott. <em>Poetry is an island</em>
is an intimate </span><span style="font-size: small;">portrait of the man, the
poet, </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;">and son of the Caribbean: Derek
Walcott."</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.walcottfilm.com/" target="_blank" xcomment="target=_blank">www.walcottfilm.com</a> </span></div> </div></body>
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