One of the busiest men in literature will be visiting the Bermuda College this week.

Kwame Dawes, who is a teacher, writer, poet, playwright, university professor and reggae devotee will give a reading on Wednesday from 6.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Bermuda College Library.

Mr. Dawes was born in Ghana and grew up in Jamaica. He is currently the Distinguished Poet in Residence and the Louise Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Carolina.

His latest book is called 'Hope's Hospice and Other Poems'. And he is the author of several others including 'Wisteria', 'Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius' and 'Impossible Flying'.

He has won several prestigious literary awards, including the Pushcart Prize in the United States and the Forward Prize in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Dawes also works with the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, a centre for the promotion, celebration and production of poetry based at the University of South Carolina. One of Mr. Dawes' aims as a teacher and writer is to help people, particularly children, see the value of poetry in their lives.

Q: So how do you get people to respect poetry?

A: I find that people are dismissive of poetry because they fear poetry. They fear that they won't understand it and that they will be left to feel like fools.

This is how poetry has been taught in schools once young people have started to write essays on poetry. So I don't think people lack respect for poetry. It is not hard for me to remind people of the value of language in their lives and the importance of the emotional side of their existence.

Q: How do you get people to respect the self-expression of their children?

A: Poetry's value for children is not first a matter of "self-expression" in the sense of confession of self, but "self-expression" in the sense that laughter is, that making jokes, that humming a tune is, that making riddles is. Poetry is first a matter of enjoying language, and only after that must we be concerned with confessional sayings. It is good for the latter, but it is not always necessary for poetry to be a means for people to articulate profound feelings for it to be valuable.

Q: I have a 20-month-old. Is she too young to enjoy poetry beyond nursery rhymes?

A: You say 'beyond nursery rhymes' as if nursery rhymes are a lower form of poetry. Actually, I hope that people will never stop enjoying nursery rhymes. It is when we stop enjoying nursery rhymes that we lose sight of the poetry in life. Poetry must sing. Our first engagement with poetry is visceral; it has to do with sound and less to do with meaning. There is tension, there is energy, there is rhythm, these are dynamics that are important for poetry. So if you find the qualities of nursery rhyme in poetry, then it is fine to share those poems with your child. Of course, we have no problem sharing complex music with children. They take from it what is valuable to them. The same is true for poetry.

Q: How do you find time for all the different things you do?

A: I don't know. The day is longer than we imagine it to be, I suppose. Maybe I am driven. But mostly I do what I like to do. And that helps a lot.

Q: Are you going to be doing any work with Bermuda schools on the poetry front?

A: Not as far as I know. But I can always return. That is a whole other area of my work that can't always be introduced during one short trip. I would love to in the future.

Q: How does someone based in Bermuda make a name for themselves in literature without leaving home? Can it be done?

A: One can make a name at home without leaving home. But if by 'make a name' you mean as an international figure, then one must be an international figure to do so.

One will have to leave home. But leaving home does not mean permanently leaving home.

The problem is that Bermuda, like many places in the Caribbean, is a small place and the things that a writer needs, though basic, have to be in place for the writer to grow.

Q: What do writers need?

A: Writers need a publishing environment, they need journals and other publications that publish work of quality, they need an audience of consumers and appreciators of art, they need intelligent and world class reviewers and critics. They need access to training in writing. They need to engage with other writers who can challenge their work, and they need to see their work within the larger context of what literature exists in the world.

To be published in a way that has an impact, one ultimately, wants a publisher that has a distribution network that extends beyond the small confines of their world. We have still not developed a strong publishing environment in the region and so seeking out publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom is still necessary for the serious writer. I suspect, though, that writers need to be exposed to other writers.

Q: Do you think that poetry is a dying art form?

A: Of course not. You would be surprised at how many people write poetry and hide it in their drawers. In many cultures, poetry is the most revered and celebrated art form. Of course not. Not even close.

Q: Do you have something overall that you are trying to accomplish with your work?

A :Ultimately, I am trying to master language so it can capture as accurately what I imagine as is possible.

Q: Why did you choose the topic of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica for 'Hope's Hospice'?

A: I was commissioned by the 'Virginia Quarterly Review' and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting to write an article on HIV/ AIDS in Jamaica. I knew that while writing and researching this piece I would write poems about it, because that is what I do. So the poems came because of the people I met and the people who touched my life and the way that hope and despair touched me. I did not choose the topic for poetry. But I rarely do. The topic more often than not chooses me. Anyway, HIV/AIDS is not a topic for me. It is another part of life.

Q: Did 'Hope's Hospice' represent a change in subject matter for you?

A: Yes and no. I have written poems about HIV before, so that was not changed. I have thought about HIV/ AIDS many times before. No change there. But I would not have met the people I met had I not done this project with HIV/AIDS.

And ultimately, my work tends to be engaged with people. There is nothing really unusual about the poems in 'Hope's Hospice' because I have always written poems about people, about how people deal with the challenges and joys of life. My poetry offers me a way to process and celebrate that which I have experienced. The poems in that collection are no different.