Local Seychellois author, Glynn Burridge, presents the 3rd edition of Voices, his collection of short stories from the Seychelles Islands
Almasalla,Gate Arab Tourism News- Local Seychellois author, Glynn Burridge, presents the 3rd edition of Voices, his collection of short stories from the Seychelles Islands to Minister for Tourism & Culture, Alain St.Ange.
Glynn Burridge, an Englishman who came to live in Seychelles in 1978, was based on Dárros Island in the Amirantes for 20 years at a time when the island was the property of the Iranian Royal Family. Having grown up in Iran, he left the country to escape the Iranian Revolution and decided to make Dárros his new home. It is here that he wrote Voices: Stories from the Seychelles Islands in response to the extraordinary life he led over twenty years on D’arros and the opportunities he had to travel to most of the islands of the archipelago, learning the skills of the ‘ilois’ or islander and becoming familiar with the spirit of Seychelles’ far-flung, island outposts.
Now in its third edition, Voices, which is published by Calusa Bay Publications, has undergone a recent facelift complete with new cover, fresh look and feel and additional stories which, together with a short history of the Amirantes Islands, now brings the total number in the collection to 23.
‘Back in Iran I was a commercial interpreter/translator and so writing was always there and it did not take me long to realise that if I did put pen to paper on the amazing life we were living on these unique islands, then all record would be lost,’ muses Burridge, ‘and I was not far wrong, because only two decades later and that way of life has, sadly, all but completely disappeared.’
Voices is a collection of short stories that provides the reader with a grand panorama of life in Seychelles and in particular its outer islands. They range from vaguely autobiographical accounts of extraordinary incidents, portraits of colourful, island characters, fantastic fishing yarns and gruesome ghost stories to animal tales, humorous anecdotes and stories of fabulous hidden treasure which take the reader on an unforgettably rich, literary adventure into the twilight of a disappearing world.
Today, Glynn Burridge, a naturalised Seychellois, resides on the main island of Mahé where he is chief copywriter for the Seychelles Tourism Board and co-author of several copy table books on Seychelles with Minsiter St.Ange: Seychelles the Coco-de-Mer, Seychelles Festival of the Sea”, Seychelles Enters the World of Carnival, Seychelles State House and Seychelles Unexpected Treasures. He is also author of Kolony, an historical thriller based around the Seychelles Islands.
