Stories about Jamaica from February, 2007
Jamaica: Top ten books
Jamaican novelist Marlon James posts a list of his top ten books.
Jamaica: An evening with a dub poet
Geoffrey Philp posts a podcast of the proceedings from the premiere of a documentary on the life of the Jamaican dub poet Malachi Smith.
Jamaica: “Satan is Real”
Unreconstructed racists the Louvin Brothers, composers of the country classic “Satan is Real”, “would have been horrified to know that just near the equator hundreds of negroes were loving their music,” writes Marlon James, in a post touching upon reggae's roots in country-and-western music.
Jamaica: Homophobia and violence
Leon Robinson prefaces a post about a series of brutal attacks on gay men in Jamaica by saying: “Homosexuality is frowned upon in Jamaica. Not because were “homophobic” (surely we can't be afraid of them), but because it is unlawful, as our law is based upon the Bible.“
Jamaica: Henry Fowler
Kia pays tribute to the recently deceased Henry Fowler, founder of Jamaica's exclusive Priory School, “an old-school Jamaican of colonial days, the sort of person that it is now fashionable to blame for all our ills.”
Jamaica: Moving back
Francis Wade posts an email from a reader who wishes to return to Jamaica but is concerned about crime, along with his response.
Jamaica: Reggae and the Grammys
Barbadian blogger Titilayo adds her two cents to the debate over whether the reggae category at the Grammy awards should be split in two.
Jamaica, USA: On privacy
“The irony is that the American achievement of new community and the Jamaican devolution into isolation is fueled by the same source: the Internet,” writes Jamaican novelist Marlon James. “Through the internet Americans have found a new way to interact while Jamaicans have found a new way to cut off...
Jamaica: The role of the Caribbean artist
Prompted by a blog post which raised the question of why black actress Thandie Newton didn't get better roles, Geoffrey Philp considers the role of the Caribbean artist and his/her audience: “An artist needs time and space to think through a creative problem, which means a certain amount of aesthetic...
Jamaica: We Media Miami
Miami-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp regrets he didn't have the chance to spend more time at the We Media Miami conference, but is pleased that he still had the opportunity to meet several of the attendees, including a few Global Voices members like Alice Backer, who analyses one of the...
Jamaica: Support for the Maroons
The Voice of the Taino People blog solicits support for the Jamaica Maroons.
Jamaica: Happy birthday, Bob Marley
Geoffrey Philp marks Bob Marley's birthday by posting a poem written in tribute to the Jamaican reggae superstar.
Jamaica: Happy birthday, John Hearne
Geoffrey Philp marks the birthday of Jamaican novelist John Hearne: “He had to tread carefully, I suspect, as a white Jamaican who did not sound Jamaican, in a society that was changing rapidly and in which the privileges, which a generation before a person in his situation would have taken...
Jamaica: Police killings
In spite of the fact that five Jamaican policeman have been killed in as many weeks, bassChocolate finds it hard to empathise.
Jamaica: Paris-Brest-Paris qualifier
Francis Wade completes an 125-mile bike ride in Jamaica as part of the qualification process of the Paris-Brest-Paris race.
