Few will dispute that the 1998 General Election provoked a huge amount of debate, discussion and reflection about Bermuda and our future as Bermudians.

And two men have teamed up to collect the opinions and personal stories of a broad cross-section of Bermudians about their experiences leading up to and following the election -- both "the good, the bad, and the ugly''.

Ayo Johnson, 34, and Dan Dempster, 35, decided to put together a collection of essays, short stories, poetry, artwork and photography, to be titled "The Anthology''.

They said the purpose behind the project was to create an open forum where Bermudians could begin to openly discuss diverse viewpoints that shape our definitions of Bermudian culture.

Both hope that their insider/outsider perspectives -- Mr. Dempster is a Bermudian citizen born of Irish parentage and Mr. Johnson is a citizen of both Bermuda and Sierra Leone -- will allow them to see both sides of the Bermudian cultural coin.

The two stressed that the project was independent and non-partisan, and any editing will be for quality rather than to censor ideas.

"The media has a fairly low credibility in the community, and we wanted to give Bermudians a chance to write down their own versions of what happened,'' said Mr. Johnson.

"We're casting a very big, wide net for this Anthology because only when we begin to share these stories does culture begin to develop.

"The election was obviously a watershed period in Bermuda's history -- it forced Bermuda to come to grips with it's own identity,'' said Mr. Johnson.

And Mr. Dempster said: "This election marked the first time there were two published platforms -- there was so much at stake that it was written down -- so for the first time we could debate something that was on paper.'' He noted that discussions about culture had recently become more politicised through the election -- where, he wryly noted, the words `culture' and `identity' were used in the same sentence for the first time -- and through the efforts of the Portuguese community on Island.

"The Portuguese community has been important in opening up the notion of multiculturalism in Bermuda,'' said Mr. Dempster.

"The Portuguese brought up the issue of their children (who came to Bermuda at a young age) who essentially had no rights.

"They brought it up as a political issue for the first time and it has allowed this debate on multiculturalism to begin.'' Mr. Dempster talked about an article he wrote a few years ago which raised the issue of what, exactly, is Bermudian culture -- and received negative comments for asking the question.

"I wanted to know, what exactly do we mean when we talk about Bermudian culture -- is it history, is it the land, or what? There's not a whole lot written down,'' he said.

"And that's why the Anthology is important -- we need something to refer to as a society so we can say, `this is what we were thinking in 1998' -- or else it gets lost in the general news.'' Both men hoped to use a local open mic forum, Flow Sunday, as the model for the type of frank dialogue and freedom of expression they wished to create through the Anthology.

"We want to use Flow as a microcosm of what Bermuda could be -- people standing up and expressing themselves forcefully, not always gracefully, and a community of listeners are constrained to listen no matter whether you agree or disagree,'' said Mr. Dempster.

And Mr. Johnson noted: "Leading up to the election, I got exhausted by the private conversations taking place.'' "The private discussions are very important, and we're trying to bring this into a public place.

"We are all complex individuals and we all impact on this society whether or not we are silent.

"Flow Sunday is the only workable example in Bermuda that accommodates diversity in age, sexuality, and race.'' The stories and essays should be between 800 and 1,500 words in length and deadline for submission is January 30.

Entries should include name, address and telephone number. Anonymous entries are strongly discouraged, although anyone with a particular concern should contact Mr. Dempster or Mr. Johnson for discussion.

Submissions or inquiries should be sent to: Anthology, Suite 1139, 48 Par-La-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11. Entries will not be returned, so retain a copy of your work.