Do you know Trinidadian Author , Michael Cozier?

Michael Gabriel Cozier was born on 23rd 23rd March 1958 in the tiny fishing village of Icacos. He was the nineth of ten children to Nathaniel and Emelda Cozier. Nathaniel was born in St. Vincent and migrated to Trinidad by himself at the age of seventeen. He met Emelda on the Constance Coconut Estate, they married and brought to the world ten children, five girls and five boys. Michael's mother died when he was three and his father when he was six. His elder sister Cynthia took on the responsibility of raising the brood.

He attended the Icacos Government School, the San Fernando Government Secondary School and completed a six month course at the Ince La Morita, a Trade School in Maracay Venezuela..

It was at the end of Standard Four at the Icacos Primary School that his interest in Literature began. His teacher Mr. Rampaul brought three shiny new books to school and exhibited them on the class table.

"These books," he said, "would go to the first, second and third place winner at the end of term test," and he invited the class to view the books. There was something about these novels that attracted Michael. Particularly, the one called Robinson Crusoe, which cover depicted a picture of Crusoe and Man Friday having a stroll on the beach.

He wanted to win one of these books, but sadly had neglected his school work all along for his two loves; cricket and football. He went to his sister Cynthia and expressed his goal. There was no electricity in Icacos around that time so she bought some candles and drilled him in Arithmetic and English. By some miracle he came third and received the copy of Robinson Crusoe.

First day of the holidays he hung up a hammock on a cherry tree and as he reclined and opened the book to read it, a branch broke. He fell to the ground, broke his left hand and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital. Two days later his sister brought the book to him and it was there in the hospital that he discovered the pleasures of reading. Daniel Defoe transported him from the hospital bed to the beaches of Tobago and he wandered around with Crusoe and Man Friday in their adventures.

A year later he passed the Common Entrance Examination and began attending the San Fernando Government Secondary School. He stayed with his sister Sylvia who was married to Ambrose Carrington as they were living in close proximity to his new school.

Michael missed his friends and family at Icacos and found difficulty in adjusting to city life. Sylvia and Ambrose supported and encouraged him and he slowly began to settle down. He excelled in cricket and football representing the school's teams from an early age.

When he finished school at seventeen he could not wait to return to Icacos. Interestingly on his first day back in the village, he was riding a bicycle and saw a beautiful girl walking towards him. He decided to show off to impress the girl. He let go of the bicycle handles and promptly fell off. He broke the same hand returning to the San Fernando General Hospital again.

This time at the hospital he had no books to read. He asked one of the nurses if she had any reading material but to his dismay she did not. However she gave him a pen and a few blank sheets of paper .

"Young man," she said " how about writing me a little story about your village Icacos," and that was when he wrote his first story "Frankie" that would many years later be published in his first book "Forward Ever! Backward Never!"

His love for the sea saw him working thirty-five years as a boat captain. He is now married to Annie and has two children , John and Hannah and still lives in his beloved village of Icacos among his