Poetry Society Turns 22

The quintet which formed the Poetry Society of Jamaica sketched out their plan on the walkway behind the upper tier of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts' amphitheatre in 1989. Tonight, for the first time in the Society's 22-year history, they will gather as a unit in the performance space to be recognised for their pioneering role.

Two of them, Malachi Smith and Tomlin Ellis, read at the Talking Trees Literary Fiesta in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, on Saturday.

The other three are Skaka Bantuta, Calvin Mitchell and Tommy Ricketts, the youngster of the five at the time.

He told The Gleaner that all five had been students at drama school, with Bantuta the only one then a student or a recent graduate.

They were part of a larger group, as Ricketts explained that the Poetry Society of Jamaica was formed by "the available members of Poets in Unity at the time".

Ironically, the Poetry Society was started at a time when the founding members were about to disperse, as Smith was preparing to migrate, Ellis was relocating to Mandeville to take up a job at KLAS FM, and Bantuta was heading off to rural Jamaica to teach.

"We were about to break up, but we wanted to leave a legacy," Ricketts said.

When he broached the idea it was eagerly accepted, and they approached, then dean of the college, Kay Anderson, to host the launch there. She took it further, asking them where they intended to host the monthly fellowships, a central part of the Society.

"We were not sure," Ricketts said. "She said it has to be here. We need to have something like this here."

very supportive

The fellowships have been held at the amphitheatre since then, Ricketts emphasising that the college has been very supportive.

Among those at the launch were Lorna Goodison, Edward Baugh, Mutabaruka, Mervyn Morris and Barbara Gloudon.

He says that Yashika Graham, who currently hosts the Poetry Society of Jamaica's fellowships, proposed honouring the founding members. But while the roots will be recognised tonight, Ricketts outlined plans that should see the Society extending its limbs on a national scale.

He said 'Verse vs Verse', an islandwide project which has caught the attention of the National Association of Teachers of English (NATE) and CXC officials, will be introduced, though not an official launch. It will be run in schools and have a print-media element, the intention being to add electronic media as well.

demystification of literature

"The youths will see that literature is not something boring, done by boring people," Ricketts said. "We are billing it the 'demystification of literature'."

"It will be one of the biggest things that we have attempted in our 22 years of existence," Ricketts said. "It is a kind of coming of age and 'what do we do now?'."

In addition, Ricketts said, "another thing we have been hinting at is the planning of a national literary festival". He points to the support received by the Talking Trees Literary Fiesta on Saturday, as well as the Asante Adonai Literary Lyme in St Ann the previous week, and other literary events.

"We are taking the initiative in saying let us all come together and do something national," Ricketts said, pointing to May as the "perfect month" - which also covers the Poetry Society's anniversary and the date of the former Calabash International Literary Festival. He spoke to the tourism potential, internally and externally, of a week of events. "People can bus to the different festivals," he said.

"The aim is to make it the biggest literary festival in the Caribbean," he said, emphasising that the idea is in the very early stages.

"We have no doubt that we would be able to get the corporate support," he said.