Stories about Jamaica from May, 2008
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Everglades Litany
“In anticipation of Caribbean American Heritage Month“, Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp is running video series, which begins with one of his own, entitled Everglades Litany.
Jamaica: Spinning
“Among its many atrocities, the single worst crime of the CD was that it made albums longer”: Jamaican Marlon James rediscovers the allure of vinyl.
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Calabash Podcast
Caribbean Free Radio produces a podcast from Jamaica's Calabash International Literary Festival which includes perspectives on “Derek Walcott's unforgettable premiere reading of ‘The Mongoose'” and an interview with Jamaican writer Thomas Glave, who was quite vocal about the Prime Minister's recent comments about there being no place for homosexuals in...
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Maslow & Art
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp sees a connection between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the Caribbean artist.
Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Caribbean Nostalgia
Haitian blogger kiskeácity links to an interview with Nicholas Laughlin, who is at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica talking about “Caribbean literature, imaginary roads, creoleness…”it all makes you a bit nostalgic…
Jamaica: American Standard
Litblogger Geoffrey Philp is not in Jamaica for the Calabash International Literary Festival, but he's keeping track of what's going on, including Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott's criticism of the American standard.
Jamaica: Gays and Golding
Kadene Porter at Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine analyzes the Prime Minister's controversial BBC interview in which he said that there would be no gays in his Cabinet: “It is rather strange that this single issue has come to define the morals of a people, considering the heinous nature of crimes...
Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica: Chanderpaul's Heroics
West Indies Cricket Blog quotes cricket commentator Tony Cozier on Shivnarine Chanderpaul's “heroics” vs. Australia, adding: “The energy from Sabina Park was unbelievable. Really bummed I wasn’t there.”
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Calypso Music
Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine gives a lesson in the roots of calypso music.
Jamaica: Literary Feud
Blogging from Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival, Annie Paul talks about Derek Walcott's poem The Mongoose, “written specifically with V.S. Naipaul in mind”: “Down here at Treasure Beach we give thanks for sunny skies and prickly poets. Willing conscripts in the enactment of a first-class literary feud we await the unfolding...
Jamaica, Caribbean: No gays in Golding's government
Bloggers around the Caribbean respond to Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding's assertion that there is no room in his Cabinet for homosexuals.
Jamaica, Guyana: “Creole Gang”
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Guyanese writer Rooplall Monar.
Jamaica: Homophobic Talk?
The Jamaican Prime Minister's comments on BBC‘s HARDTalk programme spur blogger Francis Wade to make a few comments of his own: “Golding…candidly responded that he would not have a gay person in his cabinet. His distaste and contempt seemed palpable to me. I imagined Jamaicans looking on with pride…I imagined...
Jamaica: Un-Welcome?
Montego Bay Day by Day says that one unique local restaurant would be “extremely happy to welcome you” – once you read through the fine print.
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Telling Stories
As Trinidadian-born filmmaker Frances-Ann Solomon's A Winter Tale opens in local theatres, Jamaican blogger Geoffrey Philp quotes a particularly poignant review: “A storyteller is a shape-shifter who uses every tool, every image, every sense to draw you in, capture your imagination.”
Jamaica: Calabash Time
“A book-lover’s paradise, Calabash is a boutique festival if there ever was one. Hordes of would-be writers rub shoulders with would-be readers and actual writers at different stages of their careers”: Annie Paul blogs about the Calabash Literary Festival happening in Jamaica.
Jamaica, Cuba: Dual Citizenship
“”What would Daryl Vaz do if he had to visit Cuba on state business?” That simple question forces Francis Wade to reconsider his views on dual citizenship and political position in Jamaica.
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica: Rice Row
Bajan Global Report says that Jamaica and Guyana have come to an agreement after their recent rice row.
Jamaica, Guyana: The Jaguar
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts a poem by Guyanese writer Abdhur-Rahman Slade Hopkinson.
Jamaica, Barbados: Human Rights
Jamaican Geoffrey Philp is joining in Bloggers Unite‘s awareness campaign for human rights, “especially in Jamaica where the rights of our gay men and women are denied almost daily”…while Barbados Underground chooses to “highlight the plight of many women in our own backyard.”
Caribbean: Samuels Banned
Both St. Vincent blogger Abeni and West Indies Cricket Blog link to reactions about the banning of West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels after he was found guilty of breaking rules designed to stop players betting on matches.