Founder and Director of the annual event, noted dub poet Yasus Afari stood tallest at Sunday evening’s staging of the 12th Annual Jamaica Poetry Festival in New Kingston.
Hosted by AC Hotels, the vibrant event included a wide array of artistic performances, and appeared to have been well supported by corporate Jamaica.
Among the performers was guest of honour, Professor Mervyn Morris, who delivered a calm and reflective set of works that was well received by the audience who gave him a rousing welcome on stage.
Iconic pianist Marjorie Whylie provided mellow music, which was warmly received and was later complemented with the presentation of the festival’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award to her.
Also a standout of the evening was comedian Dr Michael Abrahams, who dubbed his way through a number of subject areas, including politics and ‘home affairs’, which was translated into “man and woman business” by the master of ceremonies.
After raising eyebrows in asking members of the audience to indicate whether they were Labourites or Comrades, Abrahams got a huge ‘forward’ in declaring that “Mi tired ah unno!”
A section of the audience which was in attendance at Jamaica Poetry Festival 2022 at AC Hotels in New Kingston last Sunday evening.
Then he shifted into a higher political gear in taking local politicians to task by citing that every government claims to be fighting corruption, “but there has been no interruption (in corruption)”.
When the heavyweight Yasus Afari came on stage, it was a fully-loaded affair lyrically, with him waxing eloquently through subjects like environmental concerns, humanity and injustice, history and the African continent. His performance was enriched with artistic accompaniment from skilled percussionist, Calvin Mitchell, and the expressive duo of ‘dancing queens’ (Rebecca and Oris), who playfully seduced and entertained a quite responsive audience.
“If we protect the earth, the earth will protect us,” declared Yasus.
“Take care of the earth and she will take care of us,” he added emphatically.
Approaching the end of his rousing set, he labelled ‘Miss Lou’ (Louise Bennett-Coverley) as the “muma of (the Jamaican) patois, and said both Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness should be thinking about exporting the Jamaican patois, instead of relying too much “on the speaky spoky business”.
In his virtually-delivered presentation, globally-acclaimed Jamaican Jazz musician, Monty Alexander, paid tribute to the continued growth of the local creative arts and was grateful to the Poetry Festival for its outstanding development and promotional work. In one of the surprises of the evening, he treated the audience to a premiere of a track from his upcoming album. The audience enjoyed his soothing vocals and lovely music video as he enthralled them with a version of ‘As Time Goes By’, originally recorded by Herman Hupfield in 1931 and famously re-introduced in the 1942 film Casablanca.
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Another section of the audience that was at Jamaica Poetry Festival 2022 at AC Hotels in New Kingston last Sunday evening.
The evening’s entertainment was closed by an energetic set from reggae violinist Mark Stephenson, including closing with a lively rendition of the ‘Drop Leaf’ rhythm to the absolute delight of the appreciative audience.
Others who performed – all creditably – included drummer Calvin Mitchell and poets Sammoya Banton, Kai Falconer and Ebony Payne, with special virtual appearances and endorsements from Skip Marley, George Elliott Clarke and Patrick Lafayette.
The Jamaica Poetry Festival is staged by SenYAcum Edutainment for which Yasus Afari serves as Founder-Director. The festival received strong support from prominent local businesses and other entities, including the JN Group, the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), VM Investments, Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), Jamaica Observer, Proven Investment, Sandals, Digicel Foundation, Tuff Gong International Limited, Sun Coast Beach Club; along with the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ), Learning Life Jamaica, and Art of Life Magazine.
In his sponsor’s message and representing Sun Coast Beach Club, Lance Thomas expressed delight at the standards of artistic talent that were on display at the festival, and commended the SenYAcum team for its role in building a platform for local presentation and enjoyment of the creative arts. He commented that it is such standards of excellence that can fuel other local development efforts, such as the Sun Coast Beach Club, a resort-inspired, super-inclusive gated community being developed in Twelve Miles, St.Thomas.
Thomas also interestingly drew parallels between the artform of poetry and the parish of St Thomas, describing both as under-appreciated national treasures with significant latent potential.
