The Cayman Islands Poetry Festival (CIPF) is a cultural event aimed at gathering poets, performers, artists and people in general to celebrate this genre and its relationship with other genres of arts while educating people and promoting the reading of poetry and literacy. It is the festival’s intention not only to offer spaces for people of varying ages to enjoy it but also to take the poetry and arts to all demographics. It will offer the best of local and international poets and performers attending the event. It will be free of charge, and open to all; a non-discriminatory space which allows free expression, showcasing the highest quality of poetry produced in Cayman. There will be no political agenda, but the promotion and production of art, and the creation of opportunities for people to enjoy diverse cultural activities. The 2016 event – slated for December 4-10 – will be dedicated to celebrating the diversity of cultures harmoniously coexisting in Cayman and spreading words of peace, love, acceptance, transformation and tolerance among all members of society. Youth, who are the up and coming leaders of the arts, will be the focus of this festival.

The event comprehends a varied program of cultural, educative and social activities to be held during the 7 days of the festival.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to happen at the Westin Casuarina Hotel on Monday 5th, 7:00 pm. That evening will be honored with the presence of Dr. Mervin Morris, poet and professor emeritus of University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. According to educator Ralph Thompson, “In addition to his poetry, which has ranked him among the top West Indian poets, he was one of the first academics to espouse the importance of nation language in helping to define in verse important aspects of Jamaican culture.” As the festival’s Special Guest, Dr. Morris will be reading some of his poetry and reflecting in the importance of keep literature alive as a way to preserve the nation’s cultural values and heritage.

The public library will host two events: a simultaneous poetry reading in all the branches including Cayman Brac with children and members of the communities and the discussion panel which will be formed by academics, writers, historians, and other valued persons who had and are being contributing to the development of literature in Cayman. The panel will make a track in the history of the literature produced here and analyze the strengths, weakness, opportunities and the future of literary field. The National Poetry Slam will be a competitive event among teams created from different secondary schools (public and private). The event aims to promote poetry and literacy in schools and homes and also will be a platform for youngsters to have their own voice and express themselves about several issues like bullying, drugs, discrimination, violence, etc. The slam is intended to spread words of love and friendship. Books&Books will host a poetry recital with local poets, performers and artists who will offer the best of their latest creations. The bookstore has been a very supportive venue for poetry and other literary matters. The monthly meetings of the poetry groups Floetry and Nosotros take place there since their foundation. The National Gallery will be the venue for the Cayman language and Heritage celebration.

This event will include presentations by poets from Grand and Cayman Brac; storytelling, and a lot of Cayman dialect is going to be spoken that evening. Grand Pavilion is the venue chosen for the Spanish Language evening. This event will showcase the talent of Spanish speaking poets residing in Cayman and others two poets invited from Cuba and Honduras. Artists and performers will also be taking the stage for that evening.

The closing ceremony is scheduled for the last day and it will be a multicultural gala. The showcase of different national’s cultures represented in Cayman and its insertion into the local one is the aim of this event. This activity will also be useful for thanking participants, sponsors, supporters, partners, and all who made the festival possible. CIPF intends not only to create a solid cultural movement internally but to set Cayman Islands in the poetry map worldwide and specially in the region. The creation of conscience in governmental and private institutions towards the importance of supporting the development of the literary work as a crucial element for the preservation of Cayman cultural heritage is another goal.

International guests like Javier Sanchez, public and motivational speaker (USA); Jorge Luis Garces, poet, writer and literary researcher (Cuba); Perla Lusete Rivera Nuñez, poet and educator (Honduras); and Special Guest Dr. Mervin Morris (Jamaica) have confirmed their participation in this event.

Over 18 local poets had verbally confirmed their participation but won’t be official until the deadline for registration August 25th, 2016.