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Lasana M. Sekou: poet and founder of House of Nehesi Publishers

A profile of Lasana M. Sekou, the St. Martin poet, author and journalist who founded House of Nehesi Publishers and co-founded the annual St. Martin Book Fair.

By SXM Daily ·

Lasana M. Sekou is a St. Martin poet, author and journalist, and the founder of House of Nehesi Publishers, the island's best-known literary press. He also co-founded the annual St. Martin Book Fair and has written more than 20 books, making him one of the central figures in the island's literary life.

Lasana M. Sekou in 2007

Lasana M. Sekou at the CTO awards ceremony, New York, 2007. Photo: Jacqueline Lake Sample / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Early life and education

Sekou was born on 12 January 1959. He studied in the United States, at Stony Brook University and at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

House of Nehesi

Sekou founded House of Nehesi Publishers in the early 1980s, and the press brought out its first book in 1982. Since then it has published writing that is central to the island's culture. Among its titles are Ruby Bute's Golden Voices of S'maatin (1989), the first book published by a woman on St. Martin, and Daniella Jeffry's 1963 – A Landmark Year in St. Martin (2003).

The St. Martin Book Fair

Sekou is a co-founder of the St. Martin Book Fair, an annual event that brings writers and readers together on the island, according to the Bocas Lit Fest, the Trinidad and Tobago literary festival.

Writer

As an author, Sekou has published more than 20 books, and he has also worked as a journalist alongside his poetry and publishing.

Honours

Sekou was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal honour, the Bocas Lit Fest records.

Why he matters

Through his own writing and through the books he has published, Sekou has helped give St. Martin's history, language and literature a lasting place in print, for readers on both sides of the island.

Sources

  • https://www.bocaslitfest.com/participant/lasana-m-sekou/
  • https://houseofnehesipublish.com/sxm/2004/05/01/publisher-hopes-sekous-knighthood-encourages-more-to-write-deeply-and-creatively-about-st-martin/
  • https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/pages/Department-of-Culture-extends-its-deepest-condolences-to-Cultural-Icon-Ruby-Bute.aspx
  • https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lasana_M_Sekou.jpg

Source: https://www.bocaslitfest.com/participant/lasana-m-sekou/

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