Nobel Laureate lecture in St Lucia yesterday 21st January 2009

Yesterday night was the Derek Walcott Lecture. It is part of the program of the Nobel Laureate week in St Lucia. This event launched in 1993 by Sir John Compton to honour the 2 prize winners from the country. The twin peaks of excellence !

It was delivered this year by Professor Kenneth Ramchand of Trinidad and Tobago who has written several books on West Indian Literature, the most notable being The West Indian Novel and its Background. Professor Ramchand lectured for several years at the University of the West Indies and is now a Professor with the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Derek Walcott, his wife, the Governor general of St Lucia and many important people of St Lucia were present at the event.

An interesting subject for us cultural activist: "Cultural literacy". Prof. Kenneth Ramchand explored it from the point of view of cultural literacy in the caribbean litterature and of course in Derek Walcott work. He presented an opposition - for the old generation of writers- between the colonial litteracy represented by the school system and the oral/popular literacy and its resistence strategies.
He gave a definition of cultural literacy in 2 parts: the functionnal one - a shopping list of what a caribbean person should know (name of plants and animals, heros and historical facts, language uses, songs...)and a more diffuse one - a set of facts, feelings and behaviour producing a cultural background, a reference for the artist.

The main question was: what about now ?
what about cultural resistence to the ongoing cultural supremacy ?
what tools the caribbean intellectuals, writers and other artists have to fight it ?

To me this is the "end of the Independence" as a historical sequence, like Ahmadou Kourouma, famous Ivoirian writer described it in the early 90's in West Africa. It brings a huge question about identity and development. The intellectuals involved in this independance process had a big job to do: create a national identity, fight the colonial representation and highlight proudly the local/unformal/popular culture.
In doing so, they frozed it. To pass local culture - mostly oral - on an academic form killed it in a way.
Is the national culture is functionnal and adequate now for young people ?
What is the perception in the population of school programs trying to include choosen pieces (by who? on what criteria?)of the "local culture" ?

Well, the generation gap and the failure of the elaboration of a national culture alive were mentionned during the discussion. Reference were made of "Young writer" such as Nalo Hopkinson or Kendal Hippolyte in St Lucia, working on this question.
(Kendal I know you are retired this year - how long do we stay young in St Lucia ??)

discussion to be continued...

The committee had printed 2 booklets on the past lectures.
The committee had a website - but it is not updated since 2006 !