Author: Claude McKay
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
ISBN: 1513224050
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 93
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Book Description
Songs of Jamaica (1912) is a poetry collection by Claude McKay. Published before the poet left Jamaica for the United States, Songs of Jamaica is a pioneering collection of verse written in Jamaican Patois, the first of its kind. As a committed leftist, McKay was a keen observer of the Black experience in the Caribbean, the American South, and later in New York, where he gained a reputation during the Harlem Renaissance for celebrating the resilience and cultural achievement of the African American community while lamenting the poverty and violence they faced every day. “Quashie to Buccra,” the opening poem, frames this schism in terms of labor, as one class labors to fulfill the desires of another: “You tas’e petater an’ you say it sweet, / But you no know how hard we wuk fe it; / You want a basketful fe quattiewut, / ‘Cause you no know how ‘tiff de bush fe cut.” Addressing himself to a white audience, he exposes the schism inherent to colonial society between white and black, rich and poor. Advising his white reader to question their privileged consumption, dependent as it is on the subjugation of Jamaica’s black community, McKay warns that “hardship always melt away / Wheneber it comes roun’ to reapin’ day.” This revolutionary sentiment carries throughout Songs of Jamaica, finding an echo in the brilliant poem “Whe’ fe do?” Addressed to his own people, McKay offers hope for a brighter future to come: “We needn’ fold we han’ an’ cry, / Nor vex we heart wid groan and sigh; / De best we can do is fe try / To fight de despair drawin’ night: / Den we might conquer by an’ by— / Dat we might do.” With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Claude McKay’s Songs of Jamaica is a classic of Jamaican literature reimagined for modern readers.
Author: Noel Dexter
Publisher: Andersen Press (UK)
ISBN: 9789766372613
Category : Folk music
Languages : en
Pages : 136
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Book Description
Jamaica has a rich musical heritage spanning a diversity of styles and forms. Throughout the island's modern history, music has played a significant role in the social, political and economic life of its people. Mango Time: Folk Songs of Jamaica draws from the wealth of Jamaica's folk music - the music of the Jamaican people which, with its colourful range of forms, reflects the way of life of individuals or entire communities. There are religious songs and secular songs; songs for marriage, birth, death and all rites of passage. There are songs for work and songs for play; songs of upliftment and hope, and songs of derision and despair; songs which tell of small happenings in remote villages and songs which give epic accounts of significant happenings in the island's history. In all these, the Jamaican folk song gives voice to the heart, soul and experience of the Jamaican people.
Author: Walter Jekyll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Anansi (Legendary character).
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
Author: Hector Grant
Publisher: LMH Publishers
ISBN: 9789768184054
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
SONG OF JAMAICA 'Sammy plant piece a corn down a gully, An' it bear 'til it kill poor Sammy. Sammy dead, Sammy dead, Sammy dead oh, Sammy dead, Sammy dead, Sammy dead oh, Ah nuh tief Sammy tief mek dem kill him, Ah nuh tief Sammy tief mek dem kill him, But ah grudgeful naygar grudgeful mek dem kill him, But ah grudgeful naygar grudgeful mek dem kill him, Ah who she Sammy dead? him nuh dead oh!' Using the theme of this old Jamaican song, the author traces the life and times of the Gordon family of Manchester. Septimus fathers seven, the last of which is his namesake-Septimus (Junior)-a.k.a. 'Sammy'. Weaving as a backdrop the changing scenery of the Jamaican lifestyle and poignantly painting a picture of the Jamaica we all dreamed of, the author in this inspiring story leaves us with a sense that good will triumph over evil, as he follows the failures and successes of Septy and Sammy in their travels through Manchester, Clarendon, Kingston, Panama and the USA. About the Author Hector Grant was born in the district of Cocoa Walk in the parish of Manchester, Jamaica, West Indies. His formative years were spent there as well as in the district of Water Lane and Palmers Cross in the parish of Clarendon. He migrated to the United States as a young man and studied in colleges and universities in Mississippi and Texas, earning academic degrees in the Social Sciences, Sociology, Divinity and History. He has worked as Chaplin, College Instructor and Director in the General Board of Higher Education and the Ministry of the United Methodist Church in Mississippi and Texas. He presently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, where he continues his pastoral duties. Part of our commitment to publishing is to seek each year to discover new writers of fiction, who we feel have captured a part of the Jamaican spirit and history. This new author we feel has done this in his first book. We recommend it to you for your reading pleasure. -Mike Henry-
Author: Melvin L. Butler
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252051769
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 318
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Book Description
Pentecostals throughout Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora use music to declare what they believe and where they stand in relation to religious and cultural outsiders. Yet the inclusion of secular music forms like ska, reggae, and dancehall complicated music's place in social and ritual practice, challenging Jamaican Pentecostals to reconcile their religious and cultural identities. Melvin Butler journeys into this crossing of boundaries and its impact on Jamaican congregations and the music they make. Using the concept of flow, Butler's ethnography evokes both the experience of Spirit-influenced performance and the transmigrations that fuel the controversial sharing of musical and ritual resources between Jamaica and the United States. Highlighting constructions of religious and cultural identity, Butler illuminates music's vital place in how the devout regulate spiritual and cultural flow while striving to maintain both the sanctity and fluidity of their evolving tradition.Insightful and original, Island Gospel tells the many stories of how music and religious experience unite to create a sense of belonging among Jamaican people of faith.
Author: Olive Lewin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789766400286
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 362
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Book Description
This volume describes the music and lore of Jamaica from the early 16th century through emancipation in 1838 to the mid-20th century. Olive Lewin explores the role of music in the lives of slaves and explores the life and beliefs of the Kumina cult queen, Imogene Queenie Kennedy.
Author: Michael Veal
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
ISBN: 0819574422
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 353
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Book Description
Winner of the ARSC’s Award for Best Research (History) in Folk, Ethnic, or World Music (2008) When Jamaican recording engineers Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock, Errol Thompson, and Lee “Scratch” Perry began crafting “dub” music in the early 1970s, they were initiating a musical revolution that continues to have worldwide influence. Dub is a sub-genre of Jamaican reggae that flourished during reggae’s “golden age” of the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Dub involves remixing existing recordings—electronically improvising sound effects and altering vocal tracks—to create its unique sound. Just as hip-hop turned phonograph turntables into musical instruments, dub turned the mixing and sound processing technologies of the recording studio into instruments of composition and real-time improvisation. In addition to chronicling dub’s development and offering the first thorough analysis of the music itself, author Michael Veal examines dub’s social significance in Jamaican culture. He further explores the “dub revolution” that has crossed musical and cultural boundaries for over thirty years, influencing a wide variety of musical genres around the globe. Ebook Edition Note: Seven of the 25 illustrations have been redacted.
Author: Asha Ashanti Bromfield
Publisher: Wednesday Books
ISBN: 1250622301
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 310
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Book Description
"This is an excellent examination of the ways wealth, gender, and color can shape and at times create mental and emotional fractures. Verdict: A great title for public and high school libraries looking for books that offer a nuanced look at patriarchy, wealth, and gender dynamics." —School Library Journal (starred review) "Bromfield may have made a name for herself for her role on Riverdale, but with this debut, about a volatile father-daughter relationship and discovering the ugly truths hidden beneath even the most beautiful facades, she is establishing herself as a promising writer...this is a must." —Booklist (starred review) In this sweeping debut, Asha Bromfield takes readers to the heart of Jamaica, and into the soul of a girl coming to terms with her family, and herself, set against the backdrop of a hurricane. Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica. When Tilla’s mother tells her she’ll be spending the summer on the island, Tilla dreads the idea of seeing him again, but longs to discover what life in Jamaica has always held for him. In an unexpected turn of events, Tilla is forced to face the storm that unravels in her own life as she learns about the dark secrets that lie beyond the veil of paradise—all in the midst of an impending hurricane. Hurricane Summer is a powerful coming of age story that deals with colorism, classism, young love, the father-daughter dynamic—and what it means to discover your own voice in the center of complete destruction.
Author: James Berry
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books
ISBN:
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 88
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Book Description
'Windrush Songs' explores the different reasons James and his fellow travellers had for leaving the Caribbean. The poems look back on slavery and individual experiences of hardship and trying to make a living.
Author: Tom Murray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Folk songs
Languages : en
Pages : 76
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Book Description
An authentic collection of thirty Jamaican folk songs based upon a careful research into the original words and music.
