Art, at the center of the fifteenth Saint-Martin Book Fair

The fifteenth edition of the Saint-Martin Book Fair will begin on Thursday, June 1 and conclude on Saturday evening. For three days, around twenty authors, primarily Caribbean ones, will present their works and lead conferences and workshops on both sides of the island. "We did not designate a sponsor to avoid placing one artist above the others," explains Shujah Reiph, president of the Conscious Lyric Foundation and coordinator of the event in partnership with the publisher House of Nehesi.

The theme of the prior edition was science, this time it is art. The South African plastic artist and photographer Bruce Clarke, a committed artist, will introduce the opening ceremony, which will take place on Thursday morning at 8:00 at the school campus. "For fifteen years, we have always alternated between the two sides of the island for the inauguration, and each time we try a new location in order to be closer to the people," explains the organizer.

Artistic creation will be highlighted, particularly with free workshops that are open to all, including a master class on writing led by the American novelist Sybil Baker on Friday morning at the University of Sint Maarten. On the occasion of a presentation, the American scholar Petra R. Rivera-Rideau will return to the origins of reggaeton, the musical genre that mixes Latin music and dance hall.

The guests will also participate in educational establishments. "The Island’s children are the winners of the Book Fair. Stoking a taste for reading is the best way to move the territory forward," notes Shujah Reiph, who invites the public to participate in the event, deeming that everyone can learn something from it.

Several events also take place around the fair, such as a conference on Tuesday, May 30 at 7:30 PM at the University of Sint Maarten on the electoral reforms in the Caribbean.