Queens Hall honours Eintou for her contribution to our Oral Traditions

Former Poet Laureate Eintou Pearl Springer will be honoured for her contribution to our Oral Traditions as part of the Queen's Hall celebration of its 50th Anniversary.

Eintou served on the board of Queen's Hall for two four year terms and was part of the group which initiated the 'Viey La Cour' (The Old Yard) Traditional Carnival programme, which is now one of the highpoints on the national Carnival calendar and a showcase for our traditional Carnival characters. Eintou scripted the original description of the characters which is still used today as part of the event. Her play on the 1881 Port of Spain riots to save Carnival, 'Canboulay' was performed at the Hall in February 2008 in a Malick Folk Performers production.

Eintou Springer is a playwright, award winning actress, author of five volumes of poetry and a storyteller. She was Poet Laureate of Port of Spain from 2002-2009 and holds the distinct honour of being the first national of Trinidad and Tobago to perform her poetry at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival. Eintou served as Chair of the National Museum Board, was a founding member of the National Drama Association and of the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago. She has worked in Best Village as a tutor and a judge, while she conceptualised and managed the Junior Best Village programme for three years. As National Heritage Librarian, she was part of the group of librarians who oversaw the planning and construction of the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago.

Her credits as a playwright include adaptations of CLR James' 'Minty Alley' and Samuel Selvons 'Brighter Sun'. The pageant version of 'Canboulay' is performed every Carnival Friday morning on the Picadilly Greens in Port of Spain, while another play 'Shades of I-She' has received the highest local theatre award, the Cacique.

The Queens Hall award will join a string of awards presented to Eintou over the years for her contribution to the promulgation of the culture of Trinidad and Tobago, including a Vanguard Award from the National Drama Association and a National Silver Humming Bird award.

General Manager of the 'Hall' Ms. Yvonne Roberts-White has indicated that the Gala is being held to "bring visibility, prominence and recognition to those Producers and Artistes whose performance, productions and service throughout their years epitomize stamina, strength, persistency and excellence, while diligently pursuing their respective art forms .."

The presentation to Eintou will be made on Wednesday, June 3rd as part of a Gala function at the Queens Hall.