With the continued uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the Calabash International Literary Festival, the three-day event held at Jakes Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth, has been shelved until 2023.
The biennial festival of readings and music was last held in 2018, and this year’s event was initially scheduled to be held from May 27 to 29, 2022. However, according to Justine Henzell, co-founder of Calabash, with so much that still remains uncertain during this time, they have decided for the greater good of the Calabash family and the Treasure Beach community to yet again postpone the festival.
“With the country’s positivity rate and travel restrictions, it was not feasible at this time. The community of Treasure Beach has been relatively COVID-19 free. Calabash brings thousands of people locally and internationally. The community has placed its confidence in us, and we will not put the community at risk,” Henzell said.
LITERARY ENTHUSIASTS
In addition, Henzell said that many of the participants attending the festival are literary enthusiasts from all over the world. As such, based on their schedules, they must be booked in advance to attend and participate in the festival.
“With just a few months away from the proposed hosting of the festival, it is best not to keep the audience in limbo. It will be difficult to book the participants and also to secure funding. It is a challenging situation, but we are a family, and we appreciate all the support we have received, and when we are ready again, it will be bigger and even better,” she said.
The Calabash International Literary Festival was founded in 2001 by novelist Colin Channer, poet Kwame Dawes and Henzell. Their aim was simple: create a world-class literary festival with roots in Jamaica and branches reaching out into the wider world.
The three-day festival of readings and music with other forms of storytelling folded in the mix, Calabash is earthy, inspirational, daring, and diverse. It is the only annual international literary festival in the English-speaking Caribbean. It is known for its line-up of big-name authors and poets. Among the international authors who have taken part in the festival are Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Jamaica Kincaid, Derek Walcott, Junot Diaz, Elizabeth Alexander, Russell Banks, Edwidge Danticat, Caryl Phillips, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mervyn Morris, Kei Miller, Marlon James, Eleanor Catton, and many others.
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