Eintou Pearl Springer (formerly Pearl Eintou Springer) (born Cantaro village, Santa Cruz,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, 24 November 1944) is a poet, playwright, librarian and cultural activist from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. In May 2002, she was named Poet Laureate of

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Trinidad and Tobago.

Background

Springer's work frequently deals with social issues as well as pride in her African heritage. In 2003 she retired as Director of the National Heritage Library of Trinidad and Tobago, having founded the library and been its director since October 1993. She has served as a founding member of various cultural organizations, including the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT), and the Caribbean Theatre Guild. As an acclaimed performer and actress, she received NDATT's 2004 Vanguard Award, and through her family company, the Idakeda Group, she explores social issues using traditional performance forms. She was honoured as Poet Laureate of Port of Spain from 2002 to 2009. She is the author of several books, including poetry collections, for both adults and children, as well as having her writings published in a range of publications and anthologies, including ''Sturdy Black Bridges: Visions of Black Women in Literature'' (1979, edited by Roseann P. Bell, Bettye J. Parker and

Beverly Guy-Sheftall Beverly Guy-Sheftall (born June 1, 1946) is an American Black feminist scholar, writer and editor, who is the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women's Studies and English at Spelman College, in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the founding director of the S ...

), ''

Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora ...

'' (1992, edited by

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

), and ''Moving Beyond Boundaries, vol. I. International Dimensions of Black Women's Writings'' (1995, edited by

Carole Boyce Davies Carole Boyce Davies is a Caribbean-American professor of Africana Studies and English at Cornell University, the author of the prize-winning ''Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Claudia Jones'' (2008) and ''Black Women, Writing and Identity: ...

and

Molara Ogundipe-Leslie Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie (27 December 1940 – 18 June 2019), also known as Molara Ogundipe and Omolara Leslie, was a Nigerian poet, critic, editor, feminist and activist. Considered one of the foremost writers on African feminism, gender studies ...

). Springer has received acclaim for her work as a storyteller and dramatist. In 2011, her play ''How Anansi Brings the Drum'' celebrated the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD) and was part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's Youth Theatre Initiative. Springer is the subject of a 2010 film directed and produced by Amon Saba Saakana, entitled ''Ida's Daughter: The World of Eintou Pearl Springer''.

Personal life

Springer was born in Cantaro in the Santa Cruz valley above

, into a staunchly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family. She is a devotee of the

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

- Yoruba religion. She has three children and lives in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Trinidad, having come "to the traditional African religion as an act of political and ideological self expression." Her daughter Dara Healy is a dancer and a politician in Trinidad, and currently serves as Chairman of the

Democratic National Assembly The Democratic National Assembly (DNA) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party is meant to serve as a "third force" is society, providing a "non-tribal" alternative to the ruling United National Congress and the Opposition People ...

party. Writer and activist Attillah Springer is also her daughter.

Awards

* 1996: Trinidad & Tobago

Hummingbird Medal The Hummingbird Medal (abbreviated HBM or H.B.M.) is a state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago, instituted in 1969. The medal is awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state in any field, or acts of conspicuous gallantry or other o ...

(Silver) for Culture * 2004: Vanguard Award of the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NDATT)"Eintou Pearl Springer - Biodata"
, Idakeda Group Ltd.

Books

* 1986: ''Out of the Shadows'' (poetry). London: Karia Press. * 1987: ''The Caribbean: the lands and their peoples''. London: Macdonald (previous ed. by Ken Campbell, 1980). * 1991: ''Focussed'' (poetry) .l. Triangle. * 1995: (Editor) ''The New Aesthetic and the Meaning of Culture in the Caribbean; the dream coming in with the rain: proceedings of the Carifesta V Symposia, Port of Spain, Trinidad, August 1992''. Port of Spain, Trinidad: National Carnival Commission. * 2000: ''Moving Into the Light'' (poetry). Kingston, Jamaica:

Ian Randle Ian Randle OD (born 7 July 1949) is a Jamaican publisher. He is the founder of an eponymous independent publishing company whose main focus is on English-language readers. He has won awards including the Prince Claus Award in 2012 and the 2019 ...

. * 2005: ''Loving the Skin I'm In'' (poetry). Port of Spain: Lexicon Trinidad. * 2016: ''Survivor: A Collection of Plays for Children and Young Adults''.

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

. .

References

External links