WITH over 30 years in the fields of music, education and eventology, John Arnold is one of Tobago’s most celebrated sons.
He was awarded the Hummingbird medal (gold) for culture and the arts at the 2011 national awards and remains a leading figure within the island’s creative fraternity.
Now, Arnold’s work as a pioneer, lobbyist and visionary is contained in his memoir, A Tobago Son: A memoir of musician and eventologist John Arnold, which is being launched on November 17, at Kariwak Village, Crown Point, from 5 pm.
Several key speakers are expected to address the guests and Arnold will also read excerpts from the memoir. There will be live entertainment from Lynette Louis.
On November 18, Arnold will promote the publication at the National Library in Port of Spain from 5.30 pm.
A Tobago Son: A memoir of musician and eventologist John Arnold is already available on Kindle and Amazon.
Written by well-known author and journalist Lisa Allen-Agostini, the ten-chapter memoir takes a deeply personal look at the experiences and influences that shaped Arnold’s life, dating back to his tough childhood in Bethel and culminating with his reputation as one of Tobago’s cultural luminaries.
It is Arnold’s second publication. In 2007, he published a songbook, titled Carry em go Long, containing 33 of Tobago’s folk songs.
In a Sunday Newsday interview on Wednesday, Arnold, 64, said, “It is really a book that traces my childhood in the context of why I am the way I am now. It looks at the impact of school on me as a musician and events person. When the reader goes through it, they will realise that my whole life has been influenced by these two main things.”
Some chapters, he said, are dedicated to landmark periods in his life:
For example, one reflects on his life as an A-Level student at Polytechnic Institute in Trinidad. Then there is his ground-breaking work as the artistic director of the Signal Hill Alumni Choir, which has won numerous awards locally and internationally.
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Another deals with his battle with prostate cancer.
“It is an interesting journey and it is told in the way I speak. It is very conversational.”
Arnold, who is the CEO of the Tobago Festivals Commission and chairman of MusicTT, said he had long wanted to create a publication in which he could pass on some of the lessons he learnt as a musician and event administrator.
He said he initially wanted to call the publication Eventologist, because there were several things he learnt personally and professionally while coordinating shows over the years.
But Arnold said when he took the idea to Allen-Agostini but she convinced him to include other aspects of his life.
“She told me to delve deeper because I have had such a colourful life and needed to trace how these things have impacted me, thus allowing me to be who I am.”
He said they later came up with the c
