“School kill di joy of reading!”
TWO SUNDAYS ago, at the vibrant Artwalk Festival in downtown Kingston, I walked up Church Street where the book vendors were located. I stopped to chat with one of my favourite booksellers who goes by the mystical name I-Nation K.L.O.S. He’s also a poet who has published five volumes of his work. His most recent collection came out in 2023:
Mumblings of the Heart A Pan Afrikan Love Tale.
Keron ‘Kabaka Pyramid’ Salmon wrote an inspiring testimonial: “Ever since I’ve known I-Nation he has diligently and steadfastly stuck to the task of providing the resources to reconstruct our identity as Afrikans in Jamaica .... Nation-building is fundamental to Rastafari philosophy and livity, and education is its cornerstone.”
I-Nation’s mobile bookstore is always at cultural events across Jamaica. It is decorated with motivational messages. For instance: “Buy books, read more, know more, do more, be more”! Most Saturdays, I-Nation is at the Ujima Natural Farmers Market in Hope Gardens. And he travels far and wide to fulfil his mission. I’ve seen him in action at the Rototom Sunsplash Festival in Spain.
NO TIME TO READ FOR PLEASURE
As I was leaving I-Nation’s stall, I overheard a young woman complaining to her friend: “Is bare book up here.” I couldn’t resist asking her why she was so disappointed to find only books at that section of the festival. Her response was alarming. When she was a child, she used to enjoy reading. But, as she put it vividly, “School kill di joy of reading.”
The decline started in high school and, by the time she got to university, it was all over. She’s a law student, burdened with heavy textbooks. She has no time to read for pure pleasure. I suspect that this student’s case is not unique. Traditionally, education in Jamaica was not designed to inspire joy. Schooling was conceived as nothing but hard work.
Some educators now understand the need to make learning enjoyable. For instance, the School of Education at The University of the West Indies, Mona is encouraging the love of poetry. On Tuesday, April 16, there will be a workshop on the theme, “Poetry Kyan Nyam.” Like delicious food, literature can be joyfully consumed to feed mind, body and spirit.
In email correspondence, Dr Aisha Spencer, senior lecturer, language and literature education, told me that the workshop “will focus on helping students to engage with poetry in a fun, creative and dynamic way, while at the same time guiding them through how to respond to the CSEC English B examination questions.” The workshop was oversubscribed so another one will be offered soon.
WHATEVER CHILDREN LOVE WILL LAST FOREVER
Literary festivals are an exhilarating way of motivating participants to read for pleasure. The Calabash International Literary Festival, first held in 2001, has set a very high standard for the many other events that have sprung up over the last two decades. In 2003, Amina Blackwood Meeks, a brilliant storyteller and cultural activist, established “Likkle Storyfest.” Six hundred children from a wide range of schools attended the exciting event.
Amina had invited me to be the guest speaker at the festival. She recently reminded me that I’d said, “Whatever children love will last forever, so give them something worthy of being loved.” Nine years later, the name of the much-loved festival was changed to “Ananse Soundsplash” to mark the 50th anniversary of Independence. This year’s festival will be held from November 17-23, with the theme, “First People.” It will open at Emancipation Park and then travel across Jamaica.
Poet and cultural entrepreneur Yasus Afari is the master of marketing creative writing. In 2003, he launched “Poetry in Motion,” featuring a host of writers. In 2011, his Jamaica Poetry Festival was staged for the first time. Also in 2011, Ras Takura’s “Dis Poem Wordz & Agro Festival” took root at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland. A vital element of the festival is trading seeds. This is an urgent reminder that we must protect food security. On Sunday, April 28, the festival will be held at CASE. It is billed as a tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah, the dub poet who was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, the home of many Caribbean migrants to the UK. Zephaniah died in December 2023.
In March 2019, the inaugural St Thomas Heritage and Poetry Festival was held at My Beach in Prospect. It is such a tragedy that most beaches in Jamaica cannot be named and claimed by the majority of us. The festival was conceived by Omar Ryan, himself a poet and the administrative assistant at the Centre for Reparation Research at The University of the West Indies. Both Amina Blackwood Meeks and Mutabaruka gave riveting performances at the festival.
ST MARY LITERARY FESTIVAL
On Saturday, April 27, the St Mary Literary Festival will make its debut at the Port Maria Anglican Church Hall. The festival is the brain child of Paul Ward, an Englishman who came to Jamaica in 1970 to teach at the Excelsior High School. Ward hopes that the festival will put St Mary on the literary map. Established authors, like Dr Sharma Taylor, who was recently awarded a Musgrave Medal for literature, are on the programme.
Aspiring writers, including secondary school students, will also be highlighted. There will be panel discussions on AI and creative writing; the role of literature in revolutionary movements; and how to get published. For the complete schedule, visit https://m.facebook.com/stmarylf.
The festival’s theme is “Writing for joy.” I’ve added reading. Both writers and readers will relish the certainty that “bare book” kyan nyam. Literary festivals are a belly full that satisfies the soul.