Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you had a wonderful time connecting with your families and friends. I am so excited to share that my latest poetry collection, Questions in Jamaican Patois, is now available for pre-order from the Finishing Line Press website. As always, thanks for your support!
Dear Poets of the Caribbean readers and subscribers,
I hope your summer has been amazing, and that you managed to get a lot of summer reading in - whether it was by the beach, on a plane, a cruise, train or bus. Do share what you have been reading!
My summer has been great and I had an enjoyable family reunion in Toronto, Canada. Here is a picture of me trying to hold up the CN Tower. Lol!
I want to share some very good news about some writing successes that I have had this year. The first relates to poetry publication. My chapbook manuscript, Questions in Jamaican Patois, has been accepted for publication by Finishing Line Press, and will be out later this fall. I will share the book link as soon as it is available. Thanks in advance for your support, whether it is to purchase a copy, post the link on your blog or other social media accounts, or to write a review. More news on this soon.
My second writing success, while in the academic realm, is nevertheless exciting too. Thanks to my wonderful co-author, Yemisi Dina, our manuscript, Legal Research Methods for the English-Speaking Caribbean, has been accepted by Carolina Academic Press, and will be out around January 2024. This was truly a labor of love, and a much-needed legal research resource for Caribbean law students and faculty, and researchers of Foreign, Comparative, and International Law.
So, all in all, a good writing year! If you are feeling discouraged about rejections, or in a writing slump, keep pressing on! Also, please let me know of your successes when they come. Pick up that pen, or work that keyboard!
Dis Poem
By Mutabaruka
dis poem
shall speak of the wretched sea
that washed ships to these shores
of mothers cryin for their young
swallowed up by the sea
dis poem shall say nothing new
dis poem shall speak of time
time unlimited time undefined
dis poem shall call names
names like lumumba, kenyatta, nkrumah
hannibal, akenaton, malcolm, garvey
haile selassie
dis poem is vexed about apartheid racism fascism
the klu klux klan riots in brixton atlanta
jim jones
dis poem is revoltin against 1st world 2nd world
3rd world division man made decision
dis poem is like all the rest
dis poem will not be amongst great literary works
will not be recited by poetry enthusiasts
will not be quoted by politicians nor men of religion
dis poem is knives bombs guns blood fire
blazin for freedom
yes dis poem is a drum
ashanti mau mau ibo yoruba nyahbingi warriors
uhuru uhuru
uhuru namibia
uhuru soweto
uhuru afrika
dis poem will not change things
dis poem needs to be changed
dis poem is a rebirth of a people
arizin awaking understandin
dis poem speak is speakin have spoken
dis poem will continue even when poets have stopped writin
dis poem shall survive u me it shall linger in history
in your mind
in time forever
dis poem is time only time will tell
dis poem is still not written
dis poem has no poet
dis poem is just a part of the story
his-story her-story our story the story still untold
dis poem is now ringin talkin irritatin
makin u want to stop it
but dis poem will not stop
dis poem is long cannot be short
dis poem cannot be tamed cannot be blamed
the story is still not told about dis poem
dis poem is old new
dis poem was copied from the bible your prayer book
playboy magazine the n.y. times readers digest
the c.i.a. files the k.g.b. files
dis poem is no secret
dis poem shall be called boring stupid senseless
dis poem is watchin u tryin to make sense from dis poem
dis poem is messin up your brains
makin u want to stop listenin to dis poem
but u shall not stop listenin to dis poem
u need to know what will be said next in dis poem
dis poem shall disappoint you
because
dis poem is to be continued in your mind in your mind
in your mind your mind.
It's that time again - the annual Bocas Lit Festival will take place from Friday, April 28th through to Sunday, April 30th in Trinidad & Tobago.
Check out this year's program. There is also a children's program.
The following poets have their works included this year in the nine long-listed books for the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize:
Michael Fraser's The Day-Breakers (published by Biblioasis)
Anthony Joseph's Sonnets for Albert (published by Bloomsbury)
Pamela Mordecai's de book of Joseph (published by Mawenzi House).
Sonnets for Albert won the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize.
Check out my previous post on Pamela Mordecai's two new publications, de book of Joseph and a Fierce Green Space.
A friend shared with me this delightful reading by George Scott of the poem, Song of the Banana Man, written by Jamaicn poet, Evan Jones. Mr. Scott, an educator, grew up in Jamaica and later moved with his family to Hartford, Connecticut, where he started a small business.
This poem brings back many memories from my primary school days in Jamaica where it was recited a lot in schools. Set in rural Jamaica in the 1940s, Song of the Banana man captures the psyche and ethos of small farmers - hardworking, salt of the earth people who look you in the eye, tell you good morning and howdy, and will die with their dignity. Not waiting for any handouts, but proudly toiling day in day out. I hope you enjoy the reading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEOvGM-UONY
