A new literary work chronicling the contributions of Saint Lucia’s rural and agricultural communities has been officially launched, offering a powerful re-examination of the island’s economic and social history.
The book, On the Shoulders of Peasants, authored by Saint Lucian historian Louise Mathurin-Serieux, was unveiled as part of the island’s Independence Anniversary observances, underscoring themes of national pride, identity, and historical reflection.
Speaking at the launch, Librarian at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Kathy Birch-McDiarmed, described the publication as both timely and necessary.
“It feels good and right to celebrate On the Shoulders of Peasants by Saint Lucia historian Louise Mathurin-Serieux. This is a work that challenges us to look again at a group often simplified in our narratives and to recognize the central role in shaping Saint Lucia’s agricultural and economic history,” she said.
“On the Shoulders of Peasants brings attention to a group we too often overlook in our national story.”
Birch-McDiarmed also highlighted the critical role libraries play in preserving and promoting national scholarship, pointing to the work of the Hunter J. Francois Library.
“Libraries preserve our national memory. At the Hunter J. Francois Library, the main academic library serving the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, we are proud to host a growing special collection of Saint Lucian literature, one that everyone is invited to use and indulge in,” she explained.
“A book does not end with a publication. Through cataloguing, reading lists, research guides, displays, exhibitions, and programming, libraries ensure that scholarship enters classrooms and public conversation.”
For Mathurin-Serieux, the journey to publication was long and deeply personal, rooted in years of research and a desire to better understand the forces that shaped Saint Lucia’s economy.
“I started this work as a search for answers about how our economy developed over time and what we could learn from the rise and fall of the various industries,” she said.
Her research spanned multiple countries and archives, combining academic rigor with oral histories from communities across the island.
“The uncovering, years of reading and analysis at the libraries and archives in Saint Lucia, Trinidad, two months in the archives in London, and several interviews across Saint Lucia, Castries, Mon Repos, Laborie, among others.”
Through this process, she traced the evolution of key industries that defined the island’s past.
“I uncovered so much about the fall of the sugar industry and the rise and fall of cocoa, lime, coconut and the early banana industries.”
Yet, beyond the data and economic trends, the author said it was the human stories that ultimately compelled her to publish.
“In the midst was the story of our people, the landholders, the farmers, the rural persons, the people I had relegated to the background in my earlier presentations,” she admitted.
“Their story kept screaming out to me. After a while, I honestly would joke and say that I was holding a story hostage.”
The release of “On the Shoulders of Peasants” adds an important voice to Saint Lucia’s literary and historical landscape, inviting readers to reconsider whose stories are told and whose contributions are remembered in the nation’s ongoing journey.