London stage set for literary tribute from Trinidad and Tobago

London, the seat of governance of British Empire, is geared up for a literary tribute that recognises the relationship and influences on the rich repertoire of fiction from Trinidad and Tobago.
LiTTribute to LondonTTown, the fifth in a series of international tributes by author of LiTTscapes – Landscapes of Fiction from Trinidad and Tobago, Kris Rampersad, takes place in mid July.
Among those who will join Rampersad at the LiTTribute will be Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, Vijay Krishnarayan.
Krishnarayan, who was born in Central Trinidad, took the reins of the London-based foundation last year, after serving as deputy director. He was a former managing partner of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and has had an enduring interest in environment management, land use planning and empowerment of civil society.
“This link with land use and the environment through Krishnarayan is not accidental,” Rampersad said, noting that LiTTscapes celebrates the physical and natural environment and its pictorial representations of the islands’ landscapes through the eyes of some 60 writers in more than 100 works of fiction on Trinidad and Tobago. She added:
“Nor is the connection with civil society, as all our efforts are to reposition the creative sector towards self sustenance through national and international networking and partnerships and enterprises. We are trying to encourage conversations and interactions between the multiple dimensions of the development agenda in which the creative sector has a central role.
Rampersad, will speak on the theme LiTTerary ReTTributions drawing from life and fictional experiences and explore the impact of not only British literature on Trinidad and Tobago, but also in forging cultural connections with the entire British empire and the wider world
Ambassador to London, Garvin Nicholas said: “The High Commission embraced this opportunity to host showcasing of LiTTscapes – Landscapes of Fiction from Trinidad and Tobago and its associated LiTTours and LiTTevents as the kind of innovative and out of box synergies were are trying to promote in our international outreach. We are well aware of the potential of the vision being articulated in LiTTscapes, located as we are in London - a city that has such a dynamic association with the arts.”
Said Rampersad: “As with other LiTTributes held earlier this year – to the Mainland in Guyana and to the Antilles in Antigua  - this will encourage  rethinking how we may better engage with and utilise the rich literary outpourings as represented in LiTTscapes to develop synergies with the international community for social and economic development in out of the box synergies including for film, music, entertainment and education sectors.
The LiTTribute to LondonTTown follows similar connections held with the South American continent in Guyana earlier this year and the Caribbean island archipelago in Antigua in March, after the book’s launch as aprt of the independence jubilee celebrations in 2012 and the ensuing LiTTribute to the Republic. Other such activities are earmarked for North America and Asia in 2014.
Rampersad who is a journalist and educator in Caribbean culture and heritage noted that LiTTscapes represents this relationship from the earliest writings of Sir Walter Raleigh to the current day among them many who made London their home as Naipaul, Selvon, Lakshmi Seetaram-Persaud and others.
 LiTTscapes has been acclaimed as a groundbreaking pictoral yet encyclopaedic compendium of the lifestyles, landscapes, architecture, cultures, festivals and institutions in its full colour easy reading documentary/travelogue/biography representation of Trinidad and Tobago and its fiction.
For information and invitations email lolleaves@gmail.com or visit: Blog: www. kris-rampersad.blogspot.com; Website: https://sites.google.com/site/krisrampersadglobal