GREAT BAY, St. Martin - Though only launched here in June, “Love Songs Make You Cry – Second Edition by Lasana M. Sekou has already been studied in the Caribbean literature course at CIELS university in Italy.

“The students enjoyed the class and are becoming more and more interested in the literature and politics of the islands,” said Dr. Michela Calderaro, professor of the course. The comparative literature class is part of the undergraduate program in Language Mediation at the private university, said Calderaro.

“It also encourages creative competition when even before the book of short stories was launched on its home island of St. Martin, it was a required course reading in the historical city of Padova, Italy,” said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP, the publisher of the collection. The course ended in May.

Calderaro said that Sekou’s “subject matters give his short stories ... a universal, yet unique, character that goes well beyond the boundaries of a Caribbean readership.”

CIELS is the second university in Italy to use books by the St. Martin author during the first half of 2014. The first was the University of Trieste, where Calderaro also teaches and is a leading comparative literature scholar with a focus on the Caribbean.

“Over three years ago, Jubilee Library statistics showed that Love Songs had made a dramatic comeback with young readers. In 2009 alone some 300 students took it out of the library for homework. It was decided then to just reprint the book, which was first published in 1989,” said Sample.

“When the publishing project picked up last year, it was realized that the stories about teen pregnancy in Dutch Quarter, jumbies in Middle Region, ‘Fatty and the Big House’ in French Quarter, courting in carnival village, murder at Grand Case beach, immigration raids, family and political secrets and all that, could be tweaked. In that way we got better storytelling by Lasana and faster-paced fictions for story lovers,” said Sample.

In the new Love Songs Make You Cry, Calderao does point out that, “Following one of the principles of Modernism Sekou reinvents his prose” but he does not shortchange readers on “The depth of his discourse and the scope of his subjects.”

Love Songs Make You Cry is available at Van Dorp, Arnia’s, www.amazon.com, spdbooks.org, BookIshPlaza.com, and other stores.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten - During a brief signing ceremony at Holland House on Friday popular Religious and Community Leader Pastor Apostle Mulrose Toulon announced that she would be contesting the August 29^th elections on the Democratic Party slate.

Joined by well-wishers and supporters including members of the Bell family and Prime Minister Wescot-Williams, Pastor Toulon emphasized that it is her honor to be a part of the DP party and be part of the movement to Get it Right; “It gives me great honor today to sit with an auspicious leader, a leader that has left an excellent reputation on this island and one that has pushed us through adversity on this island.

“I feel so challenged by what I have seen on my island to be a part of St. Maarten moving forward. I am honored to be a part of the change and to be a part of the silver lining.  For those saying that St. Maarten is done I do not agree. St. Maarten is about to experience exponential growth in terms of people, resources and the changing of mindsets. We are about to experience some good things on this island with the right people and I am honored to be a part of it.

“As a St. Maartener and a pastor, preaching, teaching, mentoring, loving and counseling the communities on St. Maarten I have seen the need for social reform and policies that can help our emerging cosmopolitan society. Our Country is unique and this calls for a customizing of laws, policies and procedures. I salute our previous leaders for bringing us through challenging times, Economic Crises and recessions and I would be honored to be a part of St. Maarten moving forward in 2014,” commented Pastor Toulon.

Prime Minister Wescot-Williams welcomed Pastor Toulon and thanked her for stepping up to the plate; “I want to congratulate Pastor Toulon on taking this step. It is easy to sit on the sidelines and talk about what we would like to see and what our issues are. Pastor Toulon has decided that she will be a part of the difference, a part of making St. Maarten in all what we would like it to be for generations to come.

“It is a warm heart that I welcome her and it is through her faith in this country and the people of this country that with the Democratic Party and our candidates we will be able to get the message across; a message of hope and a message of wanting to be a part of what St. Maarten can become in the future. Thank you so much for taking the leap and being part of the difference. Together we will get it right,” commented Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.

Pastor Mulrose Toulon is married with three daughters and hails from the St. Peters District. She has previously worked in the aviation industry and has been a pastor since 1989. Pastor Mulrose has a background in religious studies, social and motivational speaking and mentoring and counseling. Her primary political Ambition is to restore faith in good governance. (Contributed by the Democratic Party)

SOUALIGA NEWSDAY REPORT – The first hurricane for the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Arthur is moving very quickly offshore up the US East Coast towards Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Nantucket and parts of Eastern Canada with tropical storm force winds.  Arthur on Friday night remained a category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds with higher gusts. Over the weekend the system is expected to deteriorate into a sub-tropical low.

According to Brian McNoldy, Senior Research Associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Arthur’s category 2 status made it for the US a first since Sandy in 2012.  It was also the strongest land falling hurricane on the US since Ike in 2008.

Arthur was also the earliest North Carolina hurricane landfall on record. And it was also for the last three seasons with a hurricane formation so early in the season which was seen in 2012, 2010 and 1995, which was all extremely active years, which according to McNoldy, may just be a coincidence, but interesting nonetheless. 

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell on Thursday commenced with the Annual President of Parliament Award process. 

The application documents are on the parliament’s website.  Persons have until August 15, 2014 to submit their nominations.

The website address is: www.sxmparliament.org and can be found under the documents section on the right side of the site.  Select the link and you will be able to download the application form.

The purpose of the award is to honour young persons on Sint Maarten that are a great example to the youth and who have contributed positively to the community and the country.

Nominations can be submitted by any citizen of Sint Maarten who believes that the individual that he/she is nominating meets the criteria.

The eligibility criteria are: the candidate must have the Dutch nationality and/or has been legally residing in Sint Maarten for 10-years or more consecutively, and has been registered in the Civil Registry for that period of time; must be between the ages of 15-24 years; has made a worthwhile contribution to the development of the community and the country; these contributions/achievements must have taken place within the last three years; contributions/achievements must have been made while the individual was acting as a private citizen, not as an appointed or elected government official; and must have demonstrated capacity for leadership and ability to motivate.

An award committee will be established each year consisting of three members of Parliament.  Members of the committee will review the nomination documents prior to the selection meeting and select three nominees.

During the selection meeting, the President of Parliament selects the recipient of the award based on the recommendations of the award committee.

The award will be presented yearly to the recipient during the reception ceremony at the Opening of the Parliamentary Year.

Nominations for the Annual President of Parliament may be submitted to The Parliament of Sint Maarten, attention, Annual President of Parliament Award Committee, Wilhelminastraat 1, Philipsburg.