The Tribune

By Dionne Benjamin-Smith, Editor and Publisher, Bahamian Art & Culture Newsletter

"I'm glad you've decided to publish. Life is too short to waste your additional talents."

• Telcine Turner-Rolle in an email to Dionne Benjamin-Smith, dated March 4, 2011.

There are some people you cross paths with on your life's journey who make such an impact that it changes how you think, how you view things, how you make decisions. More times than not, those people are our teachers.

Telcine Turner-Rolle was such a teacher in my life. It was with such sadness that I learned of her passing. I knew she had not been well but never did I think we would be losing her. After all, I had just seen her and her husband, Mr. James O. Rolle, two months earlier on the Transforming Spaces tour. They were both their usual lovely selves, always warm and hearty and welcoming. They both looked well. I am so glad I got to see her that day.

Mrs Rolle was my Creative Writing teacher at COB between 1986-88. She made literature and writing come alive for me. She was tough, did not tolerate slackness and was known to be a "hard grader".

She was feared because she wielded the red pen like a sword and often I would get back my papers with more red than black. But that red pen caused me to learn from my mistakes and to seek excellence in my work. I felt I achieved success when I got a paper back from her with less red markings than the last.

But I loved her manner. I always liked the tough teachers - the ones who were loving yet didn't suffer foolishness because they meant to develop all the potential they saw in each child. Mrs Rolle exemplified that.

Every time I saw her, she was complimentary of the work I was doing and always had a ready word of encouragement. Even until recently, I would contact her with proofreading and editing jobs or questions about grammar and punctuation.

And every now and then, Mrs Rolle would send me a kind email with corrections to mistakes I made in the Bahamian Art & Culture Newsletter - a digital version of the red pen. But I loved that she would do that; always looking out for me and promoting excellence.

Telcine Turner-Rolle was amazingly gifted and keen, smart and creative, a nation builder. A Bahamian cultural icon who understood language and the nuances of our complex ways.

She increased the richness of thousands of young students' lives with her love of literature, her excellence, her wit and her exacting standards in the classroom. I learned so much from her and I know I am not the only one. She was loved by thousands - if not in person, certainly through her writing. She really was a treasure and she brought joy to me every time I came into contact with her and Mr Rolle. Such a gentlelady has left. I feel such a loss.

We extend our sincerest condolences to Mr Rolle and Arien and the rest of the Rolle family. We pray the memories you hold dear and the love that so many have for her comfort you during this time of transition.