“MISS LOU” - LOUISE BENNETT-COVERLEY
JAMAICA’S NATIONAL TREASURE
Writers Clinic – 2023 – The ABC’s of Storytelling
The Writers Clinic - 2023 aimed to help participants understand the process of writing fiction. The event was presented by the Louise Bennett-Heritage Council in collaboration with the Miramar Cultural Center, with presenter Geoffrey Philp designing and delivering the workshop. Sixteen participants aged between 11 and 16 attended the workshop, which included a PowerPoint presentation and a writing exercise. After the workshop, participants completed evaluation forms, which were used to measure the effectiveness of the event.
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The evaluation forms revealed that the participants found the content of the workshop useful and informative. The component on developing characters was particularly highlighted, with seven responses citing the following aspects of developing characters as particularly useful: developing characters and their background, five things to know about a character, and interrogating a character. Other aspects of the content that were found to be useful include dialogue, point of view, and story basics, fiction as gossip, finding patterns, using flowery language, writing exercise, and how to build tension and keep readers interested.
The design and delivery of the event were evaluated positively by all participants. The feedback included comments such as "Great job, super fun, and educating – I learned a lot!" and "All the content was well designed and well explained." Participants also appreciated the teacher's style and approach, with one participant stating, "Teacher was amazing, humorous and good-natured." The evaluation forms showed that the event was successful in meeting the expectations of the participants. While three respondents stated that the workshop only somewhat met their expectations, twelve respondents stated that the workshop met their expectations.
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Participants made suggestions for future workshops, including making them more interactive, exploring do's and don'ts and plot twists. Overall, the Writers Clinic - 2023 was well-received by the participants, who found the content useful and the design and delivery of the event effective, with many recommending that the organizers host more events like this in the future.
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The Writers Clinic -2023 was held at the Miramar Cultural Center, Miramar, Florida on April 15, 2023. The event is part of the Louise Bennett -Coverley Heritage Council’s regular programming of educational and cultural events
Therapeutics - Writing Clinic
September 10, 2022
The 2022 Writers Clinic entitled, Therapeutics: The Pen, The Journal, The Brush – In These Times. The three-part workshop is an excellent opportunity for individuals to learn the basics of songwriting, learn the art of journaling, or learn the basics of painting.
The workshop will be at held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, from 11am to 4pm, at West Regional Library, 8601 West Broward Boulevard, Plantation, Florida 33324.
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The songwriting session will be tutored by Wayne Armond, who has decades of experience as an accomplished musician, composer and producer. As a song writer, Armond is a founding member of the celebrated reggae band, Chalice. He also played with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Wayne’s session will focus on song writing as therapy, and he will demonstrate how to compliment the lyrics with music.
Colin Smith is an artist whose love of the Caribbean landscape, culture and music is evident in his paintings - from tranquil island scenes to vibrant melodic abstracts. Colin studied at the Jamaica School of Art, now the Edna Manley School for the Visual Arts. Colin will present the session on "Using Art as Therapeutics".
Maxine Plummer is a teacher, with over 25 years of teaching experience. Maxine has a degree in Mass Communication, with Language and Literature from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and a master's degree in Reading Education from Florida International University. Maxine will conduct a one-hour session titled "Journaling for Therapy".
The Louise Bennett-Coverley Writers Clinic is coordinated by Dub Poet, Malachi Smith.​​
Writing Clinic - Career or Hobby
May 18, 2022
This event will be held on May 18, 2022, at the West Regional Library in Plantation. It is important that this communication skill is encouraged as a career or hobby. In the spirit of "Miss Lou," the Council's focus is reaching the youth in assisting and encouraging them to develop their writing skills.
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Acclaimed Dub Poet Malachi Smith, and veteran Journalist Christine Craig will be moderators and program directors.
This event is free to the public, is limited to 50 participants, and requires online registration.
Write it Now - Writing Clinic – September 2018
The Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council was established in honor of the Jamaican cultural icon, Louise Bennett-Coverley, to promote and stage cultural and educational events to preserve her legacy, and provide scholarships to students in the South Florida community and Jamaica.
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The writing clinic was a new addition to this on-going mission and was sponsored by Friends of the South Regional Broward College Library. The council designated Malachi Smith as the coordinator. The one-day clinic - Write It Now – was held at the South Regional Broward College Library, Pembroke Pines, Florida. About 35 people participated in the four workshop sessions.
Participants were invited to choose one of three genre workshops, register online and send examples of their work. Geoffrey Philp conducted the Fiction workshop which covered the topics: - Character - Setting - Plot - Tone - Point of view
Christine Craig conducted the Poetry workshop which included: - Harmonizing imagery - -Tuning up musically - Up-beat editing. This workshop included guidance in practical writing sessions.
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Malachi Smith covered Performance Poetry with the topics: Heritage Vibing
Riding the Rhythm - Using the stage /body language - Interpretation and delivery. Audrey Creary and her drumming ensemble provided accompaniment for this workshop.
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There was a joint session for all participants managed by Judith Faloon-Reid who dealt with Independent Publishing –– branding, editing and marketing.
Each presenter designed his/her own workshop and produced handouts for their sessions. The package of handouts included information on Miss Lou, the work and mission of the Heritage Council and information on how to donate to the scholarship fund.
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Feedback on all workshops was enthusiastically positive and it was decided to include this event in the Heritage Council’s annual roster.
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Make it Real — Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council’s Writers Clinic
The second annual Writers Clinic presented by the Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council was a great success. Fiction was taught by Jamaica-born retired Miami-Dade College professor and author of Garvey's Ghost, Geoffrey Philp, and renowned Jamaican author Christine Craig taught Poetry. Malachi Smith taught a join session on Performance Poetry.
The Writers Clinic is held annually in South Florida to pay homage to Jamaican cultural icon, the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley, and to assist aspiring writers with developing their craft. The Clinic was held in partnership with Broward County West Regional Library, with sponsorship by Friends of the Broward County South Regional and West Regional libraries.
There were 29 participants and feedback included:
“Excellent! Delivery was clear and provided a good basis to grow.”
“Dub poetry presentation was captivating, informative
“Presenters were knowledgeable, creative, kind and helpful.”
“Excellent day! Should be held more frequently.”
“I enjoyed the hands-on aspect and opportunity to share.”
“I learned so much, I can’t wait to perform my poetry.
“Good format.” "It was amazing." "Excellent delivery."
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Geoffrey Philp said this of the Clinic— “I had a wonderful time conducting the Make it Real workshop with Christine Craig and Malachi Smith, two writers whose work I have admired for a long time. The wide range of participants, from retired teachers to middle school students, created an atmosphere in which deep learning could flourish during our conversation about craft. Judging by their probing questions and written responses that I have received so far, many of the writers, especially some of the middle school students, are on the path to becoming outstanding writers.
Lovin de Lyrics Workshop
So you want to write some hot lyrics – get your songs picked up my major recording artists, hear one featured in a film score…yes…we can all dream. But what if you had a chance to attend a rare, one-of-a-kind songwriting workshop with a master guitarist, composer and arranger? It’s going to happen on Saturday April 17th from 10am-4pm at JEPA’S Place in Oakland Park, Broward, when Eugene Grey will bring his vast experience as a practicing musician and educator to share with aspiring songwriters in the workshop – Lovin De Lyrics.
The event is presented by the Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council in keeping with their goal of helping to develop the cultural consciousness of the next generation, highlighting the contributions of various Jamaican artforms to popular culture in Jamaica and abroad.
Eugene Grey was born in Green Island, Jamaica and started his musical journey playing harmonica in the school band at Russeas High. He taught himself to play trombone, drums, piano and guitar and has earned the title of Master Guitarist, through his talent, hard work and wide-ranging interest in reggae, jazz and classics.
As a working musician, he toured as lead guitarist with many well-known musicians, such as, Toots and the Maytals, Ras Tesfa and Fab Five, also with West African singer Abdou M’Bou and Senegal’s Vieus Diop. He was a member of the orchestra in several off-Broadway shows and was Musical Director for the off-Broadway musical ‘Rasta.’
Back in Jamaica, he worked with the Wailers, Burning Spear, the Skatalites and many other fellow Jamaican musicians, as arranger and musician, and has himself a formidable discography of his own compositions.
Now living in Florida, Eugene and his wife Felicia formed Rootz of Music (www.rootzofmusic.org) which aims to advance music education to underserved communities. One such project is their weekly music sessions with the SOS Villages of Florida. The organization also works with middle and high school students and supports the work of other non-profits in musical education.
Due to COVID regulations, participation is limited so interested songwriters need to apply right away. To register, go to: www.louisebennetheritage.com. Participants must wear masks and follow distancing and sanitizing protocols. The workshop is free and lunch will be provided.