LANCNEWS A SLAVE whose death has become the stuff of local legend is to be remembered in a specially commissioned poem as part of Lancaster's Litfest.

Thousands of children are to receive the poem as part of a project to highlight the city's slave trade history.

Litfest commissioned poet Dorothea Smartt to revisit the legend of Samboo, a slave who died soon after arriving at Sunderland Point in the 18th century.

Almost 25,000 cards bearing part of the work are to be printed - one for each person shipped into slavery as a result of transactions made at Lancaster - and will be distributed around the county's schools.

Samboo's unconsecrated grave at Sunderland Point is often visited by schoolchildren.

The young slave arrived in the country around 1736 from the West Indies as servant to a ship's captain. Theories surrounding his death vary from pneumonia to homesickness.

Dorothea will present the new piece on Saturday evening at 8.30pm.

Born and raised in London, and of Barbadian heritage, she tackles cultural myths and the real-life experiences of black women. And to complement the commission, Litfest will also welcome several other writers who have an interest in slavery.

David Dabydeen, who reads on Sunday November 16 at 1pm, is a poet and novelist with works including Slave Song. And Turner Ferdinand Dennis, who reads on Saturday at 7pm, enjoys cult status in Britain's black community since winning the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize in 1988.

Litfest also hosts the launch of the Slave Trade Arts Memorial Project on Saturday with a public discussion about a memorial on the city's quayside.

Lancaster was Britain's fourth largest slave port in the mid-18th century, with the trade making a massive contribution to the city's wealth. Many buildings were built with money made from slaves.