Renewal: poems by Irvin Desir, the late Saint Lucian poet much admired by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott and other Saint Lucian writers, finds publication finally through the prestigious and successful Papillote Press, based in London and Dominica. While some poems appeared in a few local anthologies in his lifetime, this posthumous collection brings to attention a voice too long unknown.
The book will be launched at Warehouse 11 in Vide Bouteille on Wednesday January 21st at 7.30 pm. This is part of the 2026 celebrations of the Nobel Laureate Festival. The public has been invited. There is no entry charge. Renewal will be on sale as well as other books by Saint Lucian writers.
Irvin Desir was born in Saint Lucia in December 1954. He was educated at St. Aloysius RC Boys School and St. Mary’s College. He had spent some time in Martinique and Barbados. He died in Castries in September of 2024.
Fellow poet Vladimir Lucien has written: “There is something poignant, real and bracing about such a publication…we cannot but worship at the altar of a line such as: “You filled this cluttered room/like a handful of clove.” And the newest star of Saint Lucian literature, poet and novelist Canisia Lubrin pays great tribute: “Renewal is poetry of rare gifts. It unfurls as hymn and closes as folklore, both personal and transcendent. Desir’s diamantine lines, marked with the sensual largesse of nature and the surreal, extend the poetry of a Saint Lucia belonging at once to no one and everyone, one ‘of shades and shadows’”. Canisia Lubrin will deliver this year’s Derek Walcott lecture on Tuesday 20th January at the Financial Centre auditorium.
Renewal’s poetry reflects a successful apprenticeship to twentieth century writers like T S Eliot and French Caribbean authors. Desir’s images are original and memorable: “fireflies heave for heaven”, “the green day and the ripe dusk have gone beating through the air like birds.” Already, this book is drawing much favourable critical attention in the UK and other places.
The launch of Renewal will feature an introduction by poet and playwright Kendel Hippolyte, a friend of the late poet. Hippolyte and John Robert Lee had tried for many years to publish a collection of Desir’s work. Success finally came when the poems were brought to the attention of Polly Pattullo, founder and owner of the successful and respected Papillote Press, who enthusiastically agreed to publish the book. She will be here for the launch. A number of local poets, many associated with Desir, will read selected poems from this collection at the launch.
The book will be on sale along with publications by other Saint Lucian authors.