My Favourite
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Arguably, the mother of Jamaican poetry, the late great Louise Bennett-Coverly,through her poems in Jamaican patois, raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level which became acceptable and appreciated by all in and outside of Jamaica.
Today, we have host of modern day Jamaican poets who are helping to preserve this rich cultural heritage. The list is long but two that stands out in my mind is the ever effervescent Joan Andrea Hutchinson and the radical Mutabaruka.
Needless to say that most of my favourite Jamaican poem are by the one and only Mama Lou.
They include:
- Dry-Foot Bwoy
- Back to Africa
- Social Climbing
- Scandal
- Noh Little Twang!
'All a dem nice', but my ultimate favourite is NOH LICKLE TWANG!
This poem bemoans the fact that a recent repatriate Jamaican returned from the United States without a trace of having been there--not even a little "twang"!
NOH LICKLE TWANGby Louise BennettMe glad fe se's you come back bwoy, Yuh mean yuh goh dah 'Merica Bwoy yuh noh shame? Is soh you come? An yuh sista wat work ongle Bwoy yuh couldn' improve yuhself! Not even a drapes trouziz? or Suppose me las' rne pass go introjooce Dem hooda laugh afta me, bwoy Noh back-ansa me bwoy, yuh talk Ef yuh want please him meck him tink |
You can get the words of the other four here. It's an PDF file, so you may need Adobe Acrobat to open it.
If you are looking to purchase her works, you can check this website dedicated to her or do a quick search on Amazon.com.
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