(Aruba, 1957) is one of St. Martin’s better-known poets who writes with notable dedication. He has lived in Trinidad and the Netherlands. In the 1980s he made St. Martin his home, and here first book, Illegal Truth (1991) was published under the name of Ras Changa. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, he became well known as a believer in RastaFari. His thunderous voice is heard often at various cultural events. Changa's work was recently published in an anthology of St. Martin writing. The multicultural aspect of the island is central to his work. More than 70 nations live on this Caribbean Island of which some part still ‘belongs’ to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The original population has become a minority and this has some strange, downright colonial effects. Europeans, for example, can live on the island without immigration restrictions, but Caribbean migrants must apply for a visa.
Hickinson toured with Winternachten in Indonesia and the Netherlands Antilles, and performed at the festival in The Hague.

(ps. of Stanley Richard Slijngard, 1939) is a literary performer and a poet. Sombra was born in Totness, Coronie, Surinam. He is very much involved in social matters. In 1973, during the great teachers' strike, he went on hungerstrike twice, calling attention to the social misery. In 1975 Sombra also took part in the street theatre Fri Makandra. He is co-initiator of the Writers' group '77, and has been active on the board for 25 years. He published the poetry collection Tarta (1974), Dagwe (1976), Ten-Tijd (1989) and Griot (1992). Alongside this his stories have been included in Hoor die Tori (Listen to the Tori) (1990), Siroto (1993) and De Ware Tijd Literair. Sombra writes his poetry mainly in Sranan.

(Oirschot, 1957) from 1983 to 1987 he worked in Surinam. Van Kempen is the compiler of two extensive anthologies: Spiegel van de Surinaamse poëzie (Mirror of the Surinamese Poetry) (1995) and Mama Sranan. 200 jaar Surinaamse verhaalkunst (Mama Sranan, 200 Years of Surinamese Storytelling) (1999). In 1997 his first novel, Plantage Lankmoedigheid (Plantation Patience) appeared. He also published: Het Nirwana is een lege trein (Nirvana is an Empty Train) (2000) and Pakistaanse nacht (Pakistani Night) (2002). In 2002 he obtained his doctorate with his thesis Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur (A history of Surinamese literature). His anthology Noordoostpassanten (Northeast Transients), which he compiled together with Wim Rutgers, was presented at the Winternachten festival in 2005. In 2006 he published the novel Escape Routes.