At a casual gathering, accountant and civil society commentator Richard Peterkin found himself seated next to Sigrid Nama, and their conversation soon turned to her late partner, Derek Walcott, and the unrealised dreams that bore his name. The discussion rekindled a long-dormant vision Walcott had championed after winning the Nobel Prize in 1992: to transform Rat Island, a tiny islet off Saint Lucia’s northwestern coast, into a retreat for writers and artists.
The vision, bold and hopeful, had initially gained traction. The government at the time supported the concept and took the first steps toward making it a reality, incorporating the Rat Island Foundation in 1994. There were murmurs that funds had even been disbursed for the project, though no official account of their use has emerged. Over time, momentum waned.
Now, years later, Peterkin finds himself stirred by the dormant possibility of what could have been, and what still could be. Nama’s enduring enthusiasm and the renewed interest from others have reignited his own determination to see whether Walcott’s dream can, in some form, be revived.
“There are no rats anymore. The whip-tailed lizard was brought in, so now it’s like Maria Island,” Peterkin told St Lucia Times, referring to the 2006 conservation effort, supported by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which rid the island of an invasive rat population. “I’m sure the lizards would be happy to share a little bit of the island with writers or other cultural activists to put us on the map.”
“It’s possible Saint Lucia can be known as not just having the fastest woman in the world and two Nobel laureates,” he added, “but there’s not too many places that have a writer’s retreat on a small island, that the well-known writers of the world can come and spend a little time.”
Still, he acknowledges that resuscitating the original vision might require reimagining it altogether. The original Rat Island Foundation was helmed by an 11-member committee that included Walcott himself, as well as figures like Hunter Francois, Bertram Clarke, Didacus Jules, Ronald Pilgrim, Floretta Nicholas, Patrick Anthony, Dunstan St Omer, George Odlum, Patricia Charles and Neville Skeete.
“As you can tell from that list, about eight of them have passed,” Peterkin said. Yet, he remains hopeful, noting there are new avenues for the project’s revival. Nama, he adds, would be “a good person to have on any committee going forward… she knows perhaps more about him than most.” While the decision isn’t his to make, he says, “She’s very keen.”
After publicly sharing his thoughts on social media, Peterkin was surprised by the groundswell of interest. “I got a good response following my post. I’m hopeful… the ones that contacted me privately all said, ‘I’m willing to help’.”
Beyond honouring Walcott’s legacy, Peterkin sees the initiative as an opportunity to weave together the island’s ecological, historical and cultural threads. In the 1800s, Rat Island, officially Islet du Choc, served as a quarantine station during epidemics. Later, Saint Lucian families reportedly rented the island for leisure. Perhaps most intriguingly, it is widely believed that in 1970, the islet hosted a meeting of influential Caribbean personalities. Though the exact purpose of the meeting remains unclear, theories suggest it was tied to the surge of Black Power activism in the region, either as a progressive response to its rise or a strategic gathering of left-wing nationalists in the wake of Trinidad and Tobago’s 1970 Black Power Revolution.
“The only thing from what I can see,” Peterkin said, “is that it will require government, who passed this Act in the first place, through parliament or some mechanism, to replenish the committee so that it can start the process of raising the money to do what is necessary.”
He hopes to soon engage Saint Lucia’s Minister for Culture, Dr Ernest Hilaire, “and explain to him where we’re at and ask his assistance in kind of renewing the whole mandate and helping to replenish a board to fill in for all those who have passed or left”.
In terms of scale, Peterkin estimates that the project would need between EC$3-4 million. But before any fundraising begins, key questions must be answered: “Are we still doing what was initially decided? Are we still keeping the name Rat Island because the actual name of the island is Isle Du Choc? Are we still going to do a small number of buildings and have restricted access to the island?” He says the island may not be suited for mass tourism.
For Peterkin, the project is personally rewarding. “I know Sigrid well and I love Derek’s poetry, so that’s what attracts me…. I admire and respect what he has done for Saint Lucia. I would like to be able to do something that I know he would be happy with. He would turn in his grave and say, ‘Ah, at last, somebody has done what I wanted’.”
Ms Nelson, I agree totally with your editorial. It’s a shame that for decades the government has failed to move on cementing Sit Derek’s legacy in Saint Lucia. The great bard has been fighting tooth and nail for the arts in Saint Lucia and yet the government has been giving bare empty platitudes. Its not now these plans were drawn up for Islet du Choc. My only concern is, housing the writers retreat on the Islet will damage the fragile ecosystem there. As you can see, nature has flourish on the Islet beautifully simply because it has not been troubled by constant human activity. Also the government should move to enforce the official name of the Islet as Islet du Choc and rid it of the stigma and stereotypical name rat island. That’s an affront to both rats and the Islet. My great disappointment is that the government is not moving fast enough to consolidate anything cultural that’s worth saving. Sir Derek was worshipped in Trinidad, he was sought after all over the world but in Saint Lucia, I get a sense that he is just known as a Nobel laureate. Sir Derek’s works should be at the tip of the tongues of all Saint Lucians. His plays should be in the National theatre we don’t have and which he fought for. When you have people who lead a country that don’t know the value of their treasures, they let its value go down the drain….more must be done for the legacy of this giant of a man. Theatres must be built, a National theatre is absolutely needed and necessary, his works studied in every educational institution in Saint Lucia, his works on every shelf.
@C-Wiz I agree 100 percent.
“Writers retreat “ !! Choooops……..is it for sale ?? Or lease Inquiring mind wants to know .
I am interested to hear this idea is in discussion again. I wish every success to them.