· June, 2006

Stories about Jamaica from June, 2006

Jamaica: Going home

  30 June 2006

Jamaican Francis Wade addresses the “remarkable inner journey” one embarks upon on returning to one's homeland, and discusses some of the tools that have helped him along the way.

Jamaica, USA: The making of a poet

  27 June 2006

Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp recalls his early days in Miami and his rise from supermarket bag boy to community college student and — eventually — winner of a college poetry prize.

Jamaica: More meetings with Bob

  27 June 2006

In reponse to a post about his encouters with Bob Marley, Geoffrey Philp receives a note from dub poet Malachi Smith about his own meetings with the reggae superstar.

Jamaica: Female Don

  26 June 2006

“Sasha Payne (what an appropriate name) is being hailed as the next don for the troubled Havana community in Arnett Gardens. She is so notorious that the police have put her on their Most Wanted List,” writes Leon Robinson.

Jamaica: Anti-gay groups

  20 June 2006

Francis Wade notes the arrival of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and the National Church Alliance, the first organised anti-gay groups in Jamaica, and quotes a Jamaica Observer article which states that the groups have proposed that the phrase “free and democratic society” be replaced in the country's Charter of Rights...

Jamaica: Dealing with the police

  19 June 2006

Francis Wade overcomes some hesitation and writes about a few recent encounters he's had with the Jamaican police, and the things he learned about himself in the process.

Caribbean: BLP role in CSME

  19 June 2006

The Barbados Labour Party blog gives its political leader — and Prime Minister of Barbados — Owen Arthur a pat on the back for the role he has played in the development of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Haiti: Telecom Wars

  18 June 2006

Digicel billboard, Martinique. By blogger Greg at InternetRapide.com. Jamaica-based Caribbean telecom giant Digicel has a presence in over a dozen countries in the region. Digicel officially launched operations on the Haitian market in May to much resistance from local private telecoms Haitel and Comcel but bloggers and other web commentators...

Jamaica, USA: The US and the post-national writer

  13 June 2006

As he works on his second novel, Jamaican writer Marlon James ponders the obstacles the US publishing establishment puts in the way of writers like himself, but concludes that “I have to hold to the belief that book and reader have an almost cosmic destiny to meet. And when they...

Jamaica, USA: Imagine Miami

  13 June 2006

Florida-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp discusses some of the ideas he plans to incorporate into his presentation for the “Imagine Miami” lecture series, which addresses issues of identity. Among the things he plans touch upon are “a reflection on Miami’s geographical location as a port/frontier city and as a Latin/Hispanic/Caribbean...

Jamaica: The “neighbourhood crackhead”

  9 June 2006

“The murder rate has hit its all time high in Jamaica, but yet sometimes I feel very removed from it. Nobody in my family seems to be perturbed,” begins Back on the Rock, as she tells the story of the “neighbourhood crackhead” who keeps stealing things from her house in...

Caribbean: Hurricane unpreparedness?

  9 June 2006

As hurricane season begins, Taran Rampersad worries that “the Caribbean in general can't handle a Category 3 hurricane. All everyone is discussing at this point is how fast one can recover”.

Haiti Rejoins CARICOM

  9 June 2006

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to an AFP article that announces (Fr)Haiti's official rejoining of Caricom. Haiti temporarily ceased being a member of the 15-country Caribbean body in 2004, after the fall of then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. CARICOM invited President Preval to attend the organization's next summit in July in...

Jamaica, UK: Celebrating Zadie's win

  8 June 2006

JT at the Caribbean Beat Weblog celebrates Zadie Smith's winning the Orange Prize for Fiction: “Zadie Smith is British but counts as Caribbean on account of her Jamaican mother and the multicultural world she lives in. . . . Don't worry about the critics who make much of this book...

Caribbean: Marking the start of the hurricane season

  2 June 2006

“What is it about us that loves to celebrate everything?” asks Florida-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp, who uploads a podcast of a poem to mark the June 1 start of the hurricane season. Simon T posts a photo of a perfect Cayman Islands sunset at Flickr, giving it the title...