HELEN Williams Batson’s debut book, I am NOT a duck! will be a welcome addition to the limited number of local books written specifically for performers. Batson said the book was born of her passion of enabling children to express themselves to the adults in their lives, especially their parents.
Batson launched the book on April 20 at the Lloyd Best Institute in Tunapuna. She said the book was a collection of performance monologues, which would be of interest to teachers, parents, social workers and people in the arts.
“The book wasn’t written just for entertainment purposes. I have a passion for children and over the years I’ve seen how children are affected by how adults speak to them or people treat them, and so the book is really an introduction to the stage, where they would express themselves and it would help adults to see how the children are affected by their behaviours as adults.
“I am a defender of children, I am representing the children with this book. We need to help people understand that children are little but they have big minds, and they may not be able to speak effectively enough or in a way that can convince the parent or help the parent to understand what they are going through and how they feel.”
Batson said the name of the book came when she imagined a mother parrot trying to tell her baby to stop talking and accidentally told it to stop quacking because there was a duck nearby, to which the baby parrot retorted, “I am not a duck!”
She said there were 20 pieces in the book, covering various topics and with varying levels of seriousness.
“Seven or eight of them are witty, because you know you have to add the little humour to make it light, but its facts. The pieces were written so they could be performed and adults could see through children’s lenses, how the children feel and how it affects them.
Batson said she is planning a performance at Nalis, Port of Spain, on June 1, where children will perform the pieces.
“This will be where the rubber meets the road, the children and the parents face off on the stage, because the children are able to express their feelings, and some of them have all these desires, because they imagine a better life.”
She said she plans to sell the books to schools as well as placing copies in libraries.
“I think the schools would do well with them. I am also thinking of going to primary and secondary schools, as we have four pieces that secondary children would better appreciate, and do some readings at the schools, so that maybe teachers would invest, take ten for the library.”
Batson said often children are affected by their parents fighting and then take that burden to school where they are unable to function properly, leading them to further be chastised by teachers, who may have their own issues which they take out on the children.
[caption id="attachment_1082943" align="alignnone" width="768"] Helen Williams Batson displays her book at the First Caribbean Author Conference at the Central Bank on April 23 -[/caption]
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