Ivan Khayiat's ' Msiba, My Love' wins First Prize in Tagore Awards

Ivan A. Khayiat’s ‘Msiba, My Love’ has won the first prize for poetry in the adult section of Suriname’s Tagore Art Competition.

The competition, which was launched in May 2011 by the Suriname Tagore Celebrations Committee, attracted more than 135 entries from students and adults in Suriname. Judges for the national competitions included members of the Schrijvers Group'77, Art Vibes United, and the University of Suriname.

The prestigious Tagore Art Competition was launched to mark the 150^`" Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European and person of color to win a Nobel Prize (1912). Born in 1861, Tagore was a prolific writer, dramatist, poet, artist, philosopher, and international humanist. Across the world, national and international competitions are being held to uphold values in creative excellence in celebration of Tagore.

Milton Drepaul in his foreword to the upcoming published edition describes the poem in this way:  ‘Msiba, My Love is not only a unique collection of poems but also a deeply moving plea for respect for mother earth, Suriname and its people…. It is a symphonic poem in three movements which profoundly explores the many layers of an economic and ecological crime that was committed in Suriname in the 1960s.  In the name of progress a multi- national company together with the Dutch colonial government forcibly removed   thriving Maroon communities from their ancestral homes to create the Afobaka hydro electric dam.”

Ivan A. Khayiat, B.S., M.A., is an educator, media specialist, avid environmental observer, and a published writer.

Ivan was born in Guyana and attended Queen's College. He later studied in the US doing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Communications and Literature.

Ivan Khayiat is a passionate writer on environment issues. He lives in South America near to the rain forest. His books of poetry include "Quest by Day”, “Forest Tears" and” Msiba-My Love".