Children use poetry as therapy

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns presented challenges for Barbadians, particularly children who, according to officials, were traumatised the most.

As a consequence, the National Library Service provided an opportunity for children ages 5 to 14, who felt they were impacted by the pandemic, to express their feelings and emotions through poetry.

Acting director Beverley Archer says the decision to host the competition was not only to expose the wealth of talent of the youth but also as a form of taking a stand against the invasiveness of the pandemic.

She made the remark on Saturday, during a book launch at the National Library Service, where a number of children shared their poetic talents surrounding COVID-19 with the crowd in attendance. Afterwards, books of their literary works were distributed to them in return as a reward for their effort.

Senior librarian Loleta Parris lauded the children for their bold participation in the initiative which would be archived.

She noted that it established them as budding historians as they documented the mood of the youth during the COVID-19 pandemic for future reference.

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