Richard Georges
{{Short description|British Virgin Islands poet laureate (born 1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
Richard Georges (born 1982) is the first poet laureate of the British Virgin Islands.{{cite web |title=Dr Richard Georges appointed the BVI's first Poet Laureate |url=https://bvi.org/dr-richard-georges-appointed-the-bvi-s-first-poet-laureate |website=British Virgin Islands |access-date=21 November 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Kampa |first1=Dana |title=Richard Georges named VI's 1st poet laureate |url=https://www.bvibeacon.com/richard-georges-named-vis-1st-poet-laureate/ |access-date=21 November 2020 |website=The BVI Beacon |date=November 19, 2020}} He is the current president of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College{{Cite web|title=New Leadership Appointments At HLSCC {{!}} Government of the Virgin Islands|url=https://bvi.gov.vg/media-centre/new-leadership-appointments-hlscc|date=2 October 2020|access-date=2020-10-12|website=bvi.gov.vg}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-05|title=Four new appointments at HLSCC|url=https://bvinews.com/four-new-appointments-at-hlscc/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=BVI News|language=en}} and a founding editor of MOKO: Caribbean Arts & Letters.{{cite web |title=About |url=http://mokomagazine.org/wordpress/about/ |website=MOKO: Caribbean Arts & Letters |access-date=21 November 2020}} Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Georges was raised and currently resides in the British Virgin Islands.
Education
Georges earned a B.A. (English) from the Texas Christian University, an M.A. (Creative Writing) from Aberystwyth University, and a Ph.D. (Creative and Critical Writing) from University of Sussex, where he published his thesis "Charting the sea in Caribbean poetry: Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, Dionne Brand, Alphaeus Norman, Verna Penn Moll, and Richard Georges."{{cite thesis |title=Charting the sea in Caribbean poetry: Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, Dionne Brand, Alphaeus Norman, Verna Penn Moll, and Richard Georges |url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/66040/ |website=University of Sussex |date=9 January 2017 |access-date=21 November 2020 |last1=Georges |first1=Richard William Ethan }}
Georges says that while studying for his B.A. degree, he found himself "falling in love with images and rhyme and would find parallels between writers like Walcott and Eliot with lyrical rappers like Nas and Eminem."{{cite web |title=Richard Georges |url=https://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/richard-georges/ |website=Forward Arts Foundation |access-date=21 November 2020}}
Writing
Georges' poetry is enveloped in the textured sensuality of the sea while also addressing the violent history of the Caribbean and recent events such as Hurricane Irma and the climate crisis.{{cite news |last1=Bagoo |first1=Andre |title=Richard Georges' poems: Skywards |url=https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/24/richard-georges-poems-skywards/ |access-date=21 November 2020 |newspaper=Newsday |date=May 24, 2020}}
Make Us All Islands, Georges' first book of poetry (Shearsman Books, 2017) was shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection by the Forward Prizes for Poetry.{{cite news |last1=Betteley |first1=Carys |title=Aberystwyth University poets in Forward Prize shortlist |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-40455984 |access-date=21 November 2020 |work=BBC News |date=July 2, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Kean |first1=Danuta |title=Michael Longley heads shortlist for Forward prizes for poetry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/12/michael-longley-heads-shortlist-for-forward-poetry-prizes |access-date=21 November 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=June 12, 2017}}
In 2018, Georges' second collection, Giant (Platypus Press) was Highly Commended by the Forward Prizes and longlisted for the 2019 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.{{cite web |title=T&T writers dominate award OCM Bocas Prize longlist |url=https://tt.loopnews.com/content/tt-writers-dominate-award-ocm-bocas-prize-longlist |website=Loop |date=1 April 2019|access-date=21 November 2020}} That same year, Georges presented the talk "The power of poetry" for TEDx Tortola.{{cite web |title=The power of poetry {{!}} Richard Georges {{!}} TEDxTortola|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN1EQVRUips |website=YouTube | date=23 January 2018 |access-date=21 November 2020}}
In 2020, Georges won the poetry category and the overall OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature with his third collection, Epiphaneia.{{Cite web|date=2020-05-02|title=Richard Georges wins the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize|url=https://www.bocaslitfest.com/2020/05/02/richard-georges-wins-2020-ocm-bocas-prize/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Bocas Lit Fest|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2020-05-03|title=Poet wins top OCM Bocas prize|first=Paula|last=Lindo|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/03/poet-wins-top-ocm-bocas-prize/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title='Epiphaneia' storms through to the top|url=https://trinidadexpress.com/features/local/epiphaneia-storms-through-to-the-top/article_73798d72-8cd6-11ea-ac64-2fc4ac0ce64d.html|date=2 May 2020|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Trinidad Express Newspapers|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2020-05-05|title=Local author wins top Caribbean literary award|url=https://bvinews.com/local-author-wins-top-caribbean-literary-award/|first=Kamal|last=Haynes|access-date=2020-10-12|website=BVI News|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2020-05-06|title=In a Virgin Islands first, Georges wins Bocas prize|url=https://www.bvibeacon.com/in-a-virgin-islands-first-georges-wins-bocas-prize/|last=Ahmed|first=Zarrin Tasnim|access-date=2020-10-12|website=The BVI Beacon|language=en-US}}
Selected works
- Make Us All Islands, poetry (2017), {{ISBN|9781848615274}}
- Giant, poetry (2018), {{ISBN|9781999773618}}
- Epiphaneia, poetry (2019), {{ISBN|9781916046849}}
References
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Category:Alumni of Aberystwyth University
Category:British Virgin Islands people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
Category:People from Port of Spain