My old Dutch teacher and well-known writer Cynthia McLeod is in New York to give some lectures. Luckily, she happened to run into my brother at Schiphol just before she left. If my brother hadn't emailed me, I would never have known that my favorite Surinamese
My old Dutch teacher and well-known writer Cynthia McLeod is in New York to give some lectures. Luckily, she happened to run into my brother at Schiphol just before departure. If my brother hadn't emailed me, I would never have known that my favorite Surinamese writer would be signing books less than half an hour away from me.
Cynthia McLeod is more than a writer. She is a lively historian who can tell fascinating stories about our Surinamese history. She also organizes boat trips with her boat called Sweet Merodia along former plantations on the Suriname River. I can really recommend this trip to everyone who goes there. Apart from the fact that it is wonderful to sail on the Suriname River with the green forests along the dark water, it is an educational, fascinating and pleasant outing where you will not be bored for a second.
Cynthia McLeod with Boris Ditrich
As a teacher I will certainly never forget her, but I also remember well one of those “Bigi Jaries” that she celebrated at Republiek. My dad, who was a classmate of Cynthia, was invited and my sister and I went with him to celebrate her birthday there outside the city. It was a super cozy crowd with countless family members and friends who put her in the spotlight. Of course there was also an abundance of delicious Surinamese dishes and drinks. Absolutely memorable festive.
Cynthia McLeod signs
Now Cynthia came to the Brooklyn Museum to share her historical knowledge with interested parties in the context of NY400. How wonderful it was to see her here. After a hearty warm brassa it was soon time to start the lecture. Modest as she is, she began to apologize that her English was poor. Well, once she started talking about our history, there was really little to notice.
It was dead silent from the moment she started talking about the occupation of New York until the end when she talked about the person Elizabeth Samson. The audience was glued to listen to how Suriname was exchanged for New York and the true history of the free black woman. Even I who thought I knew Surinamese history reasonably well felt very enriched when she finished.
After the lecture, Cynthia proudly showed a colorful slide show of the city of Paramaribo. That way, those who had never been there could get an idea of the country with the profitable plantations that had been exchanged for the island of New York.
There was soon a line for the signing. Friendly as she is, she stood talking extensively with her readers and in no time the books in the museum bookstore were sold out.
Luckily she still had time to have a bite to eat with us in the museum cafe. Together with her American companion, my cousin who is an even bigger fan of McLeod and has all her books and her husband, we had a very nice chat. The next time she is here we want to know well in advance so that we can give her a nice warm welcome in Surinamese style. We are already looking forward to the next time.