A Brief History of Jamaica's Kendal Railway Tragedy with Beverley East

Strictly Facts: A Guide to Caribbean History and Culture

More than sixty years ago, on September 1, 1957, over 1600 lives were lost and generations of families were impacted when a train derailed on its way to Kingston after leaving Montego Bay. Writer and leading handwriting expert Beverley East joins Strictly Facts to share the story of the Kendal Railway Tragedy, its impact on her own family, and how and what inspired her to write Reaper of Souls, a historical novel about what was then the second worst rail disaster in history at the time.
Ms. Beverley East CAM, MGA, CFDE, has been a guest at several major literary festivals. Mainly the international Calabash Literary Festival in St Elizabeth Jamaica she read twice in 2008 and in 2014. Other literary festivals include Guadeloupe, Dominica, Nigeria, London and USA. She has sat on literary panels at the Library of Congress, World Bank and the House of Commons. She was a fellow for the Virginia Centre for the Creative Arts (VCCA ) and Calabash literary festival. She created the Writer’s Lounge in 2007 where she has guided many authors on their journey to writing and publishing. Ms. East has participated in several anthologies and currently sits on the Board of the Hurston Wright Foundation.

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