Nicholas R Gilbert

Nicholas R. Gilbert is the first of nine children of his parents. Nicholas was born and grew up in the village of Mandingo Road located on the outskirts of Princes Town and Moruga in southern Trinidad. The name of his village is significant to him since it was named after his African heritage. As a proud descendant of the Mandinka or Ashanti Mandingo, hailing from the west coast of Africa, he is proud of his heritage. The name of the village is most significant to him since the Ashanti Mandingo, through their leader Mohammed Bath Sultan, bought their freedom from slavery and named the village after its people. Nicholas grew up in a family where history was preserved through an African practice known as storytelling. As a child, he heard many stories about his ancestors from his grandparents and parents. As a result, he grew to love storytelling and began to write stories from a tender age. His passion for story writing evolved into poems as he grew older. He participated in concerts in his community as a child and was always fond of the community and the arts.

A few people inspired Nicholas while growing up in his community, but the one who stands out the most to him is Ms. Molly Lucas. Ms. Lucas is a community worker and a woman who inspired many young people in the community. Nicholas referred to her as "Woman of Substance" since she empowered both males and females in the community. He remembered the situation where he felt disenfranchised and how Ms. Lucas empowered him with encouragement and inspired him through her lifestyle as a community worker. Due to poverty, many dreams seemed impossible to Nicholas as a child. Possessing a degree was one dream which seemed impossible due to the financial restrictions of his parents. However, Nicholas graduated from the University of the West Indies (2005) with a B.Sc. in Social Work (Hons). He was also given an award for “Best All-round Student” in Social Policy for that same period. Speaking of awards, Nicholas received awards of “Poet of the Month” from Poetic Vibes in January 2009 and again in January 2011. In February 2010 he was awarded by Caribbean Youth Magazine (Cary’sma) for his contributions in the “Haiti 7.0 Poetry Writing Competition.”

Nicholas currently works as a Prison Social Worker and is also a part-time lecturer at the Open Campus in St Augustine. He has a strong passion for community work and wants to work at curbing the impact of violence and crime caused by hyper-masculine traits. As a result, he completed an M.Sc. in Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies and is a member of the Rape Crisis Society.