By Sharon Dorival
Documentation is key to preserving a people’s history.
We at DALA are therefore taking steps to ensure that the history of our beautiful Dominica is not lost.
We do this not for ourselves but for the next generation and the generations after that and for anyone interested in knowing the truth of what happened here on this island. And though most of our stories are hidden in fiction, seeking eyes can find the truths among the myths and legends.
So ask again. Why DALA?
So many times I personally had to go on a manhunt for information and books about an author or authors from The Commonwealth of Dominica.
So many people do not know who Dominica is. I say who because we often say ‘tall is her body’. So many times my own children had to write about the country where their parents came from. So many cities and village tales have yet to have been told. Yes, I have read all of Giftus books, most of Lennox HoneyChurches’s books, read a few detailed poems written by Les Li, Noxi, and marveled at the stories expressed via Arnold Toulon’s artwork. There are many American perspectives of our people and their way of life but is that all? I know there’s more because I have read ‘The Flying Crapaud Collective’ and it left me wanting more.
Is the Education of a nation solely based on the wars fought and the battle cries? The music, second person narratives, and concocted lies and notions as having been taught about the Caribs and Arawaks? The Caribs who are now defined as Kalinago?
Literacy to me is more than ABC, 1,2,3 and reciting tales thrice retold and reinvented.
I see DALA as a pathway to the music and movie Industry- A gateway for the confused and combative youth- A dollop of Hope. An Inspiration for the oppressed. A healing balm for the hurting. A bridge to gap the distance between now and then- the future generation and the past and current.
DALA
Dominica
Arts
and
Literary
Association
I hear the drums.
I see the elated dancers
On stage Choreographing
The people’s history.
I hear DALA laughing. Who is DALA? They laugh. Who are those people?
- DALA is an inquisition
- Quenching of thirst
- Feeding of Souls
- Rich and poor
- Assembling together.
- All hatred put aside.
I see us soaring like eagles-We rise above the storms of life. I hear the vibrations of our words on the wings of prayer and love.
Within the walls of DALA, we don’t inspire the destruction of extreme Independence but we encounter a co-habitual system. We cherish one another’s hopes and we are kind to one another’s dreams.
Welcome to DALA– Dominica Arts and Literary Association. DALA is a platform where people can walk through the door and feel like they are home.
Joining DALA will demonstrate that when your problems seem insurmountable, remember, they will always be what they are, but like those brave mountaineers, you can always be bigger and better.
Nothing is so beautiful as a loving relationship that conforms to god’s magnificent design.
Think that children will conform to the image they think you hold of them. If you call them lazy and stupid, their behavior will prove that assessment to be correct. Control your impulsive reactions and give him or her a high image to shoot for.
That’s what DALA is all about.
Copyright © 2020 Sharon Dorival
