Former Students of Kinsale Primary School Create Poetry Anthology about Life After the Volcano
Nearly thirty years after the Soufriere Hills volcanic eruptions, former students of the Kinsale Primary School have come together to produce a sequel anthology to their original work written in the height of the eruptions.
Out of the Mouth of Babes is an anthology of poetry written by the grade five and six students of the Kinsale Primary School in 1996.
In 2024, the sequel, From Babes to proteges and Beyond will be released, written by the same group of individuals.
Dr. Gertrude Shotte who was the headmaster of the school at the time, supervised both of these written projects.
Geran Phillips, a former student of the KPS and one of the authors of the book gave an online presentation about the KPS Project at the University of the West Indies Open Campus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to an audience of online viewers and students from several academic institutions.
He spoke about the experience of writing these poems during that period of uncertainty.
Phillips continued the presentation by discussing the motivation for the sequel, which will be published later this year.
The the KPS project makes a valuable contribution to Montserrat’s culture.
The aim of this new publication is to bring attention to the Kinsale Primary School, Kinsale Village and Montserrat as a whole.
The aims of the KPS Project is to use creative expressions to come to terms with and heal from the trauma of the volcanic eruptions, both in 1996, and 2024.
Geran Phillips’ full presentation, as well as input from several of the other students, can be found on the API - Agency for Public Information: St. Vincent and the Grenadines Facebook page.