Shail Kamini Ramcharan

From a very early age, I was inclined to creative pursuits. I had a great passion for art – painting, drawing, making collages, and crafting. I also loved reading and spent hours on end in this pursuit. I remember writing my first poem when I was around six years old, and it was a very proud moment in my limited history at the time. My poem was about a witch named Switch, who lived in a ditch. My Daddy proudly showed my poem to his business partner Mr. Netto, who also happened to be our neighbor. Later that day, Mr. Netto stopped by again to visit. This time, he presented me with a gift of a beautiful pineapple for my accomplishment as a poet. The joy and pride I felt on this momentous occasion was unparalleled, and I remember it with great fondness to this day.

As I grew older, I started reading books written by my Daddy’s first cousin. Two of his books were actually assigned reading for us when I attended Bishop Anstey High School. He had graduated from Queens Royal College in Trinidad and Tobago, and went to the University of Oxford in England on a scholarship to pursue his dream of becoming a published writer. I was so inspired by this and I too dreamed that someday I would grow up and write the great American novel, or at the very least, its equivalent. In 2001, my Daddy’s first cousin, Sir V.S. Naipaul, won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I cannot begin to tell you what an inspiration this has been in my life as an aspiring writer. I began writing short stories, children’s books, and I published three collections of poetry. A few years ago, I decided to try my hand at writing a screenplay since I have such a great love for movies. That got me hooked and I have been writing scripts consistently ever since. Although I have not written that acclaimed novel, nor have I won any awards or had any of my scripts sold or produced, I know that this passion will stay with me for the rest of my life.