The book, The Story of Zen: Resilience and Hope, was officially released today, March 11, on Books.by. It is Mr. McTair’s first book.
It will also be available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback versions starting March 14 which is National Heroes Day in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. March 14 will also mark the 230th anniversary of the death of Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer.
Mr. McTair describes the book as historical fiction featuring a strong female protagonist—Zen, who is portrayed as the daughter of Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer. In the story, Zen escapes British exile and leads her people in the mountains of mainland St. Vincent following her father’s death.
When asked why he chose to write fiction, Mr. McTair responded:
“Who really knows what happened to our people who were on mainland St. Vincent during the period of exile? Much of what occurred is undocumented, and where documentation exists, it is very limited. All we are left with are our imaginations regarding what those people faced, how they survived, and how they mobilized to protect their very existence.”
“The only tool we have left is our imagination, and we should utilise creative writing as a means to counteract previous efforts to stifle and eradicate Garifuna stories and culture,” he added.
Mr McTair also suggested that we should also consider mobilising our filmmakers to produce more films based on historically verifiable Garifuna stories, as well as fictional pieces that convey strong lessons and communicate the values of the ingenious people and their resilience.
Demion McTair is a lecturer in Marketing Communication courses and Speech at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College’s Division of Technical and Vocational Education (DTVE). He is also an award-winning local journalist in St Vincent and the Grenadines who writes freelance for the UK-based newspaper, The Guardian.
He is also a development writer, having written about climate change reparations, revamping of the coconut oil industry, technology, and entrepreneurship.
His works have reached on a course outline at the The Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs
at the University of Toronto.
Also a songwriter and voice actor, McTair graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica in 2020.
Recently, he was selected one of the 280 Young Leaders of the Americas by the U.S. Department of State.
Zen is his first fictional/creative piece. Persons can begin purchasing the book of Books.by.