Poetry
Jamaica Labrish
Louise Bennett · 1966
Synopsis
One hundred and twenty-eight monologues in verse, in Creole, divided into four parts: city life, wartime, politics, Jamaica past and present. Voices from Kingston comment on the island's news: “Colonization in Reverse” cheerfully tells Miss Mattie that Jamaicans are leaving in droves to colonise England in their turn, “Back to Africa” advises her to find out first where all her ancestors came from, others hail or mock the successive governors and the high cost of living in wartime.
Context
The collection appeared in Kingston in 1966 with Sangster's, two hundred and forty-four pages with a glossary and an introduction by Rex Nettleford, who defended in it a body of work that some refused to regard as poetry. Each piece is preceded by a short historical note, and all were written to be spoken; Mervyn Morris nevertheless judged that some are better appreciated on the page.
Who it is for
Short poems in patois, written to be spoken aloud. The recordings of her voice are the best way in.
Prizes and reception
The reference collection of its author, which Mervyn Morris and Rex Nettleford read as Jamaican society spoken in its own language.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.