Trinidad and Tobago writer, librarian and cultural activist (born 1944)
Eintou Pearl Springer
Born
(1944-11-24)24 November 1944 (age 81)
Other names
Pearl Eintou Springer
Occupation(s)
Poet, playwright, librarian and cultural activist
Known for
Poet Laureate ofPort of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (2002–2009)
Children
3
Eintou Pearl Springer (formerlyPearl Eintou Springer) (born Cantaro village,Santa Cruz,Trinidad, 24 November 1944) is a poet, playwright, librarian and cultural activist fromTrinidad and Tobago. In May 2002, she was named Poet Laureate ofPort of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[1]
Springer's work frequently deals with social issues as well as pride in her African heritage. In 2003 she retired as Director of theNational Heritage Library of Trinidad and Tobago, having founded the library and been its director since October 1993.[2] She has served as a founding member of various cultural organizations, including the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT), and the Caribbean Theatre Guild.[3] As an acclaimed performer and actress, she received NDATT's 2004 Vanguard Award, and through her family company, the Idakeda Group, she explores social issues using traditional performance forms.[4][5] She was honoured as Poet Laureate of Port of Spain[6][7] from 2002 to 2009.[8]
She is the author of several books, including poetry collections, for both adults and children, as well as having her writings published in a range of publications and anthologies, includingSturdy Black Bridges: Visions of Black Women in Literature (1979, edited by Roseann P. Bell, Bettye J. Parker andBeverly Guy-Sheftall),Daughters of Africa (1992, edited byMargaret Busby),[9] andMoving Beyond Boundaries, vol. I. International Dimensions of Black Women's Writings (1995, edited byCarole Boyce Davies andMolara Ogundipe-Leslie). Springer has received acclaim for her work as a storyteller and dramatist. In 2011, her playHow Anansi Brings the Drum celebrated theUnited Nations'International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD) and was part ofUNESCO's Youth Theatre Initiative.[10]
Springer is the subject of a 2010 film directed and produced byAmon Saba Saakana, entitledIda's Daughter: The World of Eintou Pearl Springer.[11]
Springer was born in Cantaro in theSanta Cruz valley abovePort of Spain,[12] into a staunchlyRoman Catholic family.[13] She is a devotee of theOrisha-Yoruba religion. She has three children and lives inSan Juan, Trinidad, having come "to the traditional African religion as an act of political and ideological self expression."[13] Her daughter Dara Healy is a dancer and a politician in Trinidad, and currently serves as Chairman of theDemocratic National Assembly party.[14] Writer and activist Attillah Springer is also her daughter.[15][16]
1987:The Caribbean: the lands and their peoples. London: Macdonald (previous ed. by Ken Campbell, 1980).
1991:Focussed (poetry) [S.l.]: Triangle.
1995: (Editor)The New Aesthetic and the Meaning of Culture in the Caribbean; the dream coming in with the rain: proceedings of the Carifesta V Symposia, Port of Spain, Trinidad, August 1992. Port of Spain, Trinidad: National Carnival Commission.
