Dr Safeeya Mohammed
guardian.wemagazine@gmail.com
Captivating, Brave, Engaging…
These are just few words that come to mind on meeting seven- year-old Coryn, whose first book was published at age 4. However, she is more than just an author, she wins hearts with her voice, her huge smile and loves fashion. She adores bright colours and sparkles, as they truly complement her vivacious personality.
Watch out world, as Coryn is here to make her mark! She dreams of turning her books into a TV series and one day, having a restaurant. Her book series is entitled, “Chronicles of Coryn”, and staying consistent with her branding, she envisions her restaurant to be “Coryn’s Creative Cuisine”.
Tribute to Carnival Characters
Recognising the significance of the traditional Carnival characters, Coryn launched a special book dedicated to this part of our history. Coryn shared, “Carnival is a celebration of where we’ve come from and this helps us preserve our legacy. I think it’s important for all children to learn as much as they can about it. I really love my country, and Carnival is important to us, so I think every child should know this history. The Pierrot Grenade is one of my favourite traditional characters. She’s the supreme jester of Carnival, but she’s also a brilliant scholar. People underestimate her and think she’s just a clown. People underestimate me too, it’s frustrating sometimes, but I’ll keep showing them that children could do really great things too.”
Her Masquerade Debut
On Fantastic Friday, she eagerly shared to her fans, that this year, 2023 she will be playing Carnival for the first time! Her exuberance was palpable as she describes her costume from Rosalind Gabriel, “National Treasures” and then the multitalented Coryn moves to her rendition of one her favourite soca songs, Coming Home by Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous. This natural performer even entertained attendees at the Carnival village this year.
Coryn shares, one of her memorable moments was meeting Lady Montano, holding her advice dear to her heart. Lady shared on the similarities between Coryn and Machel at that age. “She told me I’m special and to keep doing what I’m doing and she’s proud of me. She’s the Montano matriarch, that means she’s the leading lady of that family. It felt really good to have her tell me all those nice things. I also got a book about Machel’s history, pretty interesting stuff.”
Started at the age 4
“When I held my first published book, it was an awestruck moment. I had written it in my copy book so to finally hold the real thing and see the bright colours next to my words really felt amazing! I did that! I really did it and I was just four years old. I wanted to do it, so I did it !” Coryn’s parents describe her as having a ‘laser-focus’ approach to every book she envisions.
“I wrote my first book when I was four years old, then I wrote another one and another one. As my 7th birthday was getting closer I thought it would be a good idea to have seven books by my 7th birthday, so that’s how the #7by7 came about."
Coryn is on a mission to encourage and motivate other children to read more and even inspiring them to write books of their own. “I am passionate about books and learning new things. I am passionate about my writing. I love creating stories on some of the fun things I learn. I also had my first in-person book launch last year, it felt really good to see so many people excited about my books.”
Paying attention to her aspirations
Coryn’s parents, Ron Clarke and Dionne Baptiste-Clarke are tasked with a mighty challenge, honouring their child’s imagination, and equipping her with the tools to bring her vision to fruition. “Coryn showed us from a really young age just who she is and what she’s about.”
Dionne chuckles as she recalls, “she never lets me forget that I didn’t pay attention when she first spoke of writing a book of her own. I didn’t tell her don’t do it, but I didn’t really acknowledge, and I did nothing to help. Thankfully, she did it anyway. That experience has taught us the importance of listening to her and giving her the freedom to just be. We always joke (my husband and I) that we’d like to get an ounce each of her audacity.”
“In Coryn’s mind, there’s nothing she can’t do if she really wants to and she’s already proven time and time again that she’s willing to put in the work. She’s self-motivated and oh so disciplined. As parents, our intent is to continue to foster her development and support her big dreams as much as possible, within reason. She has often caused us to re-evaluate what ‘within reason’ means for many aspects of life and we have purposely to tried our best to avoid limiting the goals she sets for herself!”
What’s next for Coryn?
Without even pausing, Coryn enthusiastically blurted out “Well, more books of course!”
“I already have several Chronicles of Coryn and I’m working on Chronicles of Coryn: Adventures in Space. I have a website and a YouTube channel but I really want to have a show on television so even more children could learn from the content. I want to travel across the Caribbean and the world telling children how important it is for them to read and inspiring them to go after their dreams like I’m going after mine.”
WE wish Coryn the very best on her awe-inspiring journey and WE commend her parents for supporting her remarkable adventures. WE can’t wait to see what’s her next milestone, but WE know she will continue to motivate and enthuse all she encounters, children and adults alike.
Website: https://www.chroniclesofcoryn.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corynaclarke/