Stories about Jamaica from April, 2011
Jamaica: Honesty in Poetry
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp notices “a brutal honesty” in his featured poem by Kei Miller.
Jamaica: Walcott's Work
Litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Derek Walcott, saying: “I swear, [he] makes writing verse look so easy…a poet whose oeuvre shows a deep love for the Caribbean–its language, landscape and light.”
Jamaica: Patwa
Jamaica Woman Tongue says that although “the Jamaican Constitution covertly acknowledges the fact that ‘patwa’ is, indeed, a national language…there are no ‘fair trial’ and ‘due process’ provisions in civil cases for citizens who speak only Jamaican.”
Jamaica: Vampire Humour
With the help of Trinidadian artist Christopher Cozier, Active Voice reveals another dimension to the recent Vybz Kartel cartoon controversy.
Jamaica: Divine Poetry
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp says of Kwame Dawes’ poem Shook Foil: “There is a divine symmetry of the human with music and the landscape– evidence of a ‘natural mystic’ transforming the mundane into the miraculous.”
Jamaica: Cruel Cartoon?
Jamaica Woman Tongue has her say about cartoonist Clovis Brown’s recent caricature of Vybz Kartel: “The genuine wit of the stinging editorial cartoon appears to have degenerated into little more than vulgar gutter sniping.”
Jamaica, Barbados: Search Putting CARICOM at Risk?
Abeng News Magazine says that “Jamaica’s foreign minister…is intimating that…CARICOM could be threatened if an alleged vaginal search of a Jamaican woman mid March by Barbadian border service agents is not dealt with frankly and honestly.”
Jamaica: Poetry & Sensuality
For his 21 Days/21 Poems series, diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts an erotic poem by Jacqueline Johnson, saying: “What I love about this poem is the subdued sensuality.”
Jamaica: Senior Citizens Ill-treated
“The accomplishments of a nation meaningless if the weakest of its citizens cannot expect be treated with dignity, be treated as a human, the most basic of rights”: Beyondbee is saddened and angered by news that a senior citizens’ home was mistreating its charges.
Jamaica: Public Frustration
Ruthibelle dubs the Manatt Dudus Commission of Enquiry the “Comedy of Enquiry”, then explains why she continues to watch; Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac, meanwhile, wonders whether the country is “irie” or “irate”.
Jamaica: Environment Under Siege
“Jamaica’s coasts and vital mangroves have been under assault for decades from shoreline over development”: Labrish blogs about the latest victim.
