New ground was recently broken in Saint Lucia, when local Author, Mr. Marcellus Joseph launched the final two parts of the Boyhood Days series, parts 3 and 4, on Wednesday November 30, 2022 at the Conference room of the Financial Center Building in Pointe Seraphine, Castries.
A collection of 31 memoirs written about life growing up between the 1960’s and 1980’s, Marcellus chronicles the good times, the bad times, the adventures, the disciplining, the humour and generally the way of the people during that period of time.
According to Marcellus, the intention had been to launch one book per year, commencing in 2018 and although he was able to achieve this in two successive years (2018 and 2019), Covid 19 forced him to beat a hasty retreat, since it was not possible to host any mass crowd events during the Covid years of 2020 and 2021. However, seeing the opportunity to do so now, with the relaxing of most of the Covid protocols, he decided to go ahead and launch both books now.
The books Boyhood Days, Parts 3 and 4 and by extension, the entire collection of the Boyhood Days series, is, for all intents and purposes, a documenting of times past and the way of life of the people, back then. The traditions, the cultural expressions, the games they played, the things they did and how they did them, the situations which presented themselves and how they dealt with them and generally, the instilling of our beliefs and values into the children by parents, guardians and elders of the society. According to Marcellus, the main aim and purpose of publishing the Boyhood Days series is to leave a record for those generations that will follow, so that they may get to know or have an idea of what life was like in times past.
Senior Journalist and Author, Mr. Guy Ellis describes Boyhood Days part 3 as follows;
“BOYHOOD DAYS Part 3” follows on the author’s two prequels, Parts One and Two. The seven stories in this latest work continue in the same vein of those published previously, a mixture of hilarious, nostalgic and even historical events as seen through the eyes of a young man growing up in his native Saint Lucia in the 1960s and 1980s and told in his unique teasing yet detailed style. BOYHOOD DAYS Part 3 is packed with entertainment, thrills, drama, violence and suspense. It is sure to keep the reader wanting more.
And in relation to Part 4, Mr. Ellis goes on to describe the book as follows:
In BOYHOOD DAYS 4, the adventure continues but it also brings an end to the series, with another seven enthralling chapters. Many of the characters we met in the first book have now grown some but their penchant for thrills, mischief and adventure has not changed. The stories told are nostalgic and hilarious, dramatic and comical, provocative and suspenseful, informative and entertaining. Some are also serious and violent. Altogether they present a potpourri of the varied experiences and associations which attracted young men in Saint Lucia in an earlier era that has now gone forever. Add BOYHOOD DAYS, the series, to the literary records of Saint Lucian story-telling and folklore.
It must be pointed out that during the abovementioned period, Saint Lucia was a very beautiful, natural and nature Island, full of trees, especially fruit trees, rivers and streams and when everybody was each other’s neighbour. This was certainly a time when people truly cared about and looked out for each other. It was a time of strict disciplining of the children and when everyone respected everyone. It was also a time when the majority of the people were of very humble beginnings, financially and in order to make ends meet or to guarantee their happiness, they had no choice but to be extremely creative and to do whatever they had to, legally that is, in order to get by. Those were certainly the “Good Old Days” and if you speak to anybody who grew up in that era, they will most certainly tell you that this was the best time to have grown up, not only in Saint Lucia but very possibly, around the Caribbean.
You will note that in every piece, there is a wide mention of the Creole language being used back in the day, even though the pieces are written entirely in English, with a few translations here and there. That is because back then, Creole formed a part of our very rich cultural heritage, adopted from our French background, since Saint Lucia is said to have been under French rule at least seven times, many moons ago. In that regard, Creole or Patois as it is called, is a dialect of the French language and was the language spoken mainly by the elders or older folk in Saint Lucia, during that time. This language, although not written back then, was taught to the children, as part of their home and street education, growing up. Sadly, although the Creole language is still spoken here today and much effort is being made to revive it in a holistic manner, it is still not on the level as the period mentioned above.
Finally, it must be pointed out that everything written in the books of the entire series are true and is an actual account of things that happened, during the growing up period of the 60’s to the early 80’s. Only the names of some of the individuals have been changed, in an effort to protect their privacy. Other than that, every account, every incident and every experience is described just as they happened back then or as Marcellus remembers it. Those really were the days. The Boyhood Days.
As it relates to the author and publisher of that collection of memoires, Mr. Marcellus Joseph was born and raised in the community of Patterson’s Gap, in Leslie Land, Castries. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s College (SMC), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), U.K., and Bournemouth University (Bourne U), also in the U.K. His earlier years saw him being schooled firstly, at the Castries Methodist School and later, at the St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Boys School.
Describing himself as a very simple individual, Marcellus is a lover of music, nature, family and things spiritual. He has also recently discovered a love for writing, which has given expression to his collection of Boyhood Days, Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Marcellus is the last of six children of both of his parents, namely Eileen Joseph, originally of Babonneau and Charles Joseph, originally of Soufriere, both of whom are deceased.