Richard Georges

Richard Georges (born 1982) is the first poet laureate of the British Virgin Islands.[1][2] He is the current president of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College[3][4] and a founding editor of MOKO: Caribbean Arts & Letters.[5] 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."[6]

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."[7]

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.[8]

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.[9][10]

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.[11] That same year, Georges presented the talk "The power of poetry" for TEDx Tortola.[12]

In 2020, Georges won the poetry category and the overall OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature with his third collection, Epiphaneia.[13][14][15][16][17]

Selected works
  • Make Us All Islands, poetry (2017), ISBN 9781848615274
  • Giant, poetry (2018), ISBN 9781999773618
  • Epiphaneia, poetry (2019), ISBN 9781916046849

References
  1. "Dr Richard Georges appointed the BVI's first Poet Laureate". British Virgin Islands. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  2. Kampa, Dana (19 November 2020). "Richard Georges named VI's 1st poet laureate". The BVI Beacon. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. "New Leadership Appointments At HLSCC | Government of the Virgin Islands". bvi.gov.vg. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. "Four new appointments at HLSCC". BVI News. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  5. "About". MOKO: Caribbean Arts & Letters. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  6. "Charting the sea in Caribbean poetry: Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, Dionne Brand, Alphaeus Norman, Verna Penn Moll, and Richard Georges". University of Sussex. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. "Richard Georges". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. Bagoo, Andre (24 May 2020). "Richard Georges' poems: Skywards". Newsday. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. Betteley, Carys (2 July 2017). "Aberystwyth University poets in Forward Prize shortlist". BBC News. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  10. Kean, Danuta (12 June 2017). "Michael Longley heads shortlist for Forward prizes for poetry". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  11. "T&T writers dominate award OCM Bocas Prize longlist". Loop. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  12. "The power of poetry | Richard Georges | TEDxTortola". YouTube. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  13. "Richard Georges wins the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize". Bocas Lit Fest. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  14. Lindo, Paula (3 May 2020). "Poet wins top OCM Bocas prize". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  15. "'Epiphaneia' storms through to the top". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  16. Haynes, Kamal (5 May 2020). "Local author wins top Caribbean literary award". BVI News. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  17. Ahmed, Zarrin Tasnim (6 May 2020). "In a Virgin Islands first, Georges wins Bocas prize". The BVI Beacon. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
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