Local writers and lovers of poetry are in for a treat this evening when Jamaican poet Professor Mervyn Morris holds a reading. Professor Morris will be giving a poetry reading at the Bermuda National Gallery at 6 p.m. said Dr. Kim Dismont Robinson, Folklife Officer, at Community and Cultural Affairs.

?In addition to being an award-winning poet, Professor Morris is also an impressive scholar,? she said.

?However, he won?t be giving a lecture. Since he is visiting the Island specifically because he is the editor of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs? forthcoming ?Bermuda Anthology of Poetry?, we asked that he focus on his creative writing. The reading will be about 40 minutes.

?The Department is grateful to BNG director Laura Gorham for lending the Gallery for this event ? the Biennial is such a perfect space for a poetry reading!?

Dr. Dismont Robinson added that the professor will conduct workshops while he is here for the people whose writing has been selected to appear in the ?Bermuda Anthology of Poetry?.

?We had a total of almost 400 poems submitted, and he was asked to select the best 60, with an additional 20 waitlisted for possible inclusion,? she pointed out.

?Although this first volume will be fairly slim, we opted for quality over quantity. These were blind submissions, which means Professor Morris was given a stack of poems without names or any indication of how many poems each author had submitted.

?The Department did this so that the selection process was as fair as possible; each poem that was chosen was selected purely on the basis of merit.

?After the selection process, it turns out that just over 30 people had work chosen, and the Department notified them this week.?

In some cases Mr. Morris made editing suggestions and will speak with the poets on an individual basis to explain why he?s suggested the changes, but the final decision is left to the poet as to whether or not they want to make these changes.

There will also be a Question and Answer session tomorrow following the workshops at 3.30 p.m. at Bermuda College?s South Hall, Room 163.

?Professor Morris suggested we have this for people who had questions about why their work wasn?t selected, but it is also open to the general public,? she said. Asked why this particular poet was chosen for the event, Dr. Dismont Robinson said: ?Since this is the first time a national Anthology has been produced, we wanted to make sure that the person who was the editor/judge was someone with impeccable credentials. ?If you could see Professor Morris? incredibly impressive, incredibly extensive CV, you would realise that he certainly fits the bill!

?In addition to having published several books of poetry, he has edited several books and journals, scores of his articles have appeared in different scholarly publications, and he has spent more than 25 years as a professor of literature and creative writing.

?He is a Rhodes Scholar, he is a Fulbright Fellow, and he has won the Caribbean Hall of Fame Award for Excellence in the literary arts. This man is a poet and intellectual of considerable pedigree, and we are extremely lucky to have him as part of this project.

?Prof. Morris is from Jamaica, and we also liked the idea of having an editor with some degree of sensitivity for the nuances and rhythms of island life.?

Most of the poets who had work accepted for the Anthology are ?quite elated at the prospect of participating in the workshops?. ?I?ve attended writing workshops abroad in the past, and it?s really a great experience to have the benefit of other people?s insight and creative process,? Dr. Dismont Robinson said. ?Writing is such a solitary occupation ? as it should be ? but at times it helps to be tied into a larger community of writers.

The Department is offering this workshop free of charge, although the Department could quite easily have charged at least $50 per head.

?It?s being done with the intention of supporting these writers in the development of their craft. We?re hoping to celebrate our writers, support them, and encourage their growth.?

Doors open at 5.30 this evening for a short reception.

Tickets are $10 and $8 for BNG members.