I <3 the smell of vinyl in the morning

Thanks to the extremely generous sponsorship of Caribbean Airlines, Scrip-J printers and many others, the Allen Prize for Young Writers seminar on Monday October 11 is a go!

Caribbean Airlines sponsored tickets for two writers to come, and Scrip-J sponsored programmes and a vinyl banner. Unrolling that 6×3 sheet of vinyl released a smell unlike any other… and a flood of emotion in me. This smell, the feel of the vinyl, the sight of the Allen Prize logo writ large made the whole enterprise real in a way that nothing else has so far.

This seminar has been so much work to put together that I am now bone tired (and the seminar itself isn’t even over yet!). But with the tiredness is also a deep feeling of gratitude at all the kindness that has been extended to us. The Ministry of Education has been a godsend. From Gayelle, C, IETV to the Student Press, Catholic News, Guardian, Newday and Express, I95 FM, and Power 102 FM, the media have been extremely helpful in spreading the news about the prize and the seminar. Donations by private individuals, Chee Mooke Bakery, SM Jaleel, Graphics Extra and so many more have helped us enormously. Not to mention the authors who will be presenting at the seminar, Roger Bonair-Agard, Roslyn Carrington and Dr Paloma Mohamed, who are taking serious pay cuts to come to speak.

All of this would not have been possible without the board and committees.

Nothing is so humbling as being the recipient of kindness. I hope and pray we deliver a product that young people will cherish and grow from for years to come.

I’m taking the night off, revelling in the smell of that vinyl banner and all it represents.