An eight-year-old Miranda Dookran jotted down stanzas of poems as a mere hobby. Little did that girl know she would one day be writing books. There were always reminders along the way.
At 21, a local radio station had a poetry prize, and Dookran entered with one of her poems and won the top prize.
Today, she is the author of four books. Much of her writing has focused on educating children, but she has also prioritised mental health awareness with her book Breeze of Hope which takes the reader on a tumultuous journey of discovering love, experiencing loss, and rebuilding again.
Her children’s books, however, have proven to be a big hit. Bobby and the Beehive teaches children about the importance of bees, while Tommy the Shark makes Tobagonians feel a sense of pride about their island. Her books, which teaches about Trinidad and Tobago, have been sold in Canada and England.
However, her book could perhaps be described as a beautiful accident. While going through the publishing process for a collection of poems, Dookran’s editor told her the story had the makings of a good book. “She said ‘This is not a poem. You could take this and make it into a story.’ So during the pandemic, while we were in lockdown, I used that time to sit down and write that story,” Dookran recalled.
She would dedicate the book, Bobby and the Beehive, to her late father, who died in 2012. “It was basically the memories I have of him having beehives, bringing the honeycombs, taking it through the production process then putting it in a bottle to be sold,” Dookran explained.
The main character, Bobby, takes children ages three to nine on an adventure of producing delicious honey from honeycombs found at his beehive located in the Caura Valley.
She said, “I love children, and I want to encourage them to read more and to have an appreciation and love for reading. I also want them to appreciate the Caribbean culture and probably even write too if they like.”
Dookran continues to push aspiring writers outside of her authorship. She founded Writers Collab, a forum allowing writers to showcase their work and explore various genres of writing with meetings. They meet every second Saturday of the month at the Tunapuna Library, where a different writer would showcase their work, explore different genres of writing, and inspire other writers.
She is now preparing a sequel to Bobby and the Beehive as a dedication to her late mother, who passed away last December.
However, Dookran’s mission runs much deeper. Her work comes as T&T and the rest of the region exist in a globalised world and North American content is on the television and social media.
She said, “It gives us a voice. For children, they are not just identifying with white kids anymore but children who have their own colour of skin. These are stories children can relate to.”
It’s for this reason that Dookran has become somewhat popular in Tobago. Tommy the Shark, in a quest to find his mother, goes on an adventure to Tobago. The shark discovers lovely beaches and several sea creatures along the way.
When asked by fishermen on the island on a recent trip if the story was inspired by the shark that bit the British tourist last April, Dookran was surprised they made the connection. Tobagonians have taken to her story.
She explained, “The fact that I’m actually showcasing a book on Tobago people are excited about it because there are not many children’s books on Tobago. It is producing the beauty and splendour of Tobago.”
Dookran’s success hasn’t been an easy one to achieve. For a local book market that has produced many award-winning writers, the process of publishing still remains a daunting one.
“In T&T, sometimes you feel like you don’t get enough opportunities to market books. I feel like we need more corporate support, possibly from businesses where we can showcase our books. We need more opportunities as writers to showcase our work.”
In the evolving world of writing, where Kindles and tablets are taking over traditional forms of reading, Dookran still sees those who are passionate about books.
She said, “You still meet people who have an appreciation for a physical book, and it’s good to take children away from screentime–when you could just sit outside and read a story under a tree.”
Though her audience has largely been children, Dookran sees her writing as important since she educates the nation’s youngest citizens about their country, developing their appreciation and love for where they were born.
