“Every country (if she’s lucky) gets the Mark Twain she deserves, and Winkler is ours, bristling with savage Jamaican wit” (Marlon James). Being dead is most definitely an impediment to writing a book, under ordinary circumstances. But the narrator of this novel, Taddeus Augustus Baps, has turned into a duppy—a ghost renowned in Caribbean folklore—and he has a story to tell. At first, he thinks that his new status as a spirit will provide some mischievous fun, but he’s in for disappointment. He gets whisked off to heaven—via minibus—where he meets not only God but some other interesting characters, and finds that the afterlife can be more irritating than one might expect . . . This smart, rollicking, and ultimately uplifting tale is a delight from the prize-winning author of The Lunatic and other comic novels. As The Independent said of Anthony Winkler’s work, “It’s almost as if P. G. Wodehouse had strolled into the world of Bob Marley.”
This second book in the Nevile series takes the band of companions deeper into the mystery of the evil king's rise to power. Can he be brought to justice? Suspicion looms large and deception rules the day as Nevile plots to depose the evil king of Aribbea in the year 2222. To succeed, the famous bridge builder must convince Nina, A.T. and Hunn Dread to support his mission, but everyone feels torn in different directions. Nina's bond with Hanuman the monkey leads her on a new path in life; A.T. is content with power over his own canton and Hunn Dread emerges as Nevile's rival for Nina's affection. As usual, Pierre the bacoo is sneaking off to stir up trouble with his lies. Success now depends on Nevile questioning the Royal Record Keeper to unlock the mystery of the keys in the treasure chest Nina discovered when she first found land and changed the course of the three bridgers' lives. Nevile's first test comes in Xaymaca's elfin forest where duppies confront Nevile's party. Will Nevile unite his friends, Papa Bois' folk, the bridgers and the salt miners to overthrow the king? Will he feel forced to choose between Nina and Seamstress Number 2, who once saved his life? Will he discover SN2's secret? Excitement mounts and tempers flare as Nevile builds his fighting force joined by a second Guyanese genie, a duppy and a forest creature. Will Nevile win freedom for Aribbea from the king?
Paterson Award for Literary Excellence. Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award, finalist. "Dawes's verse has an expressive power and lyric resonance that can be attributed to a trans-Atlantic consciousness weaned on the spiritual sources of reggae."--New York Times Book Review "Raised in Jamaica, Dawes takes some of his cues, and this book's title, from reggae music. But his voice in these long and short poems and sequences selected from each of his many books, which began appearing in the mid-1990s, is crystal clear, accessible and serious, mixing a timeless myth-making energy with a strong contemporary conscience..." --National Public Radio "This first U.S. selection from the Jamaica-bred, Nebraska-based poet (he also has a reputation in Britain) is his 16th book of verse in just 20 years; it reveals a writer syncretic, effusive, affectionate, alert to familial joys, but also sensitive to history, above all to the struggles of African diasporic history--the Middle Passage, sharecropper-era South Carolina, the Kingston of Bob Marley, whose song gives this big book its title. Dawes is at home with cityscape and seascape, patois and transatlantic tradition." --Publishers Weekly " Dawes] is highly original and intelligent, possessing poetic sensibility that is rooted and sound, unshakeable and unstopped, both in its vibrancy and direction. He writes poetry as it ought to be written."--World Literature Today "Dawes asserts himself as man and artist and finally, with grace achieved and grace said, sits down to begin life's tragic feast . . . a writer of major significance."--Brag Book "The notion of a reggae aesthetic--of the language moving to a different rhythm, under different kinds of pressure . . . underpins all Dawes' work as poet."--Stewart Brown Born in Ghana, raised in Jamaica, and educated in Canada, Kwame Dawes is a dynamic and electrifying poet. In this generous collection, new poems appear with the best work from fifteen previous volumes. Deeply nuanced in exploring the human condition, Dawes' poems are filled with complex emotion and consistently remind us what it means to be a global citizen. From "The Lessons": Fingers can be trained to make shapes that, pressed just right on the gleaming keys, will make a sound that can stay tears or cause them to flow for days. Anyone can learn to make some music, but not all have the heart to beat out the tunes that will turn us inside out. . . Kwame Dawes is the author of fifteen collections of poetry, two novels, four anthologies, and numerous essays and plays. In 2009 he won an Emmy Award for his interactive website, LiveHopeLove.com. Since 2011 he has taught at the University of Nebraska, and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A collection of supernatural stories from Jamaica featuring ghosts, gremlins and rolling calves. Some are true', some sinister, some amusing, but all bring to life the underbelly of a country which, while devoutly religious, is very much open to the world of the bush doctor, spirits and, of course, the ubiquitous duppies.'
Country Duppy and Jonkanoo Jamboree are two very amusing plays that revel in traditional Jamaican cultural forms and creatively explore their meeting with the modern world. Highly recommended for Caribbean students of English Literature and Theatre Arts COUNTRY DUPPY This is family entertainment.informative, rib-tickling comedy (Daily Gleaner) Country Duppy is an outrageously hilarious slice of Jamaican life. (Jamaica Observer) heavily informed by Jamaican folklore and traditional practices. (Share News, Toronto) JONKANOO JAMBOREE An allegorical exploration of class and race using the Jonkanoo as a trope for life as a masquerade. (SUSUMBA) There was understanding of stage craft, use of space and natural dialogue. (Daily Gleaner) Musical drama, part cautionary folktale marked by a sense of old-fashioned Jamaican storytelling and youthful angst. (Tallawah Magazine)
This collection of folklore and stories sheds light on a fascinating blend of cultures and practices.. Discussing the blend of West African religion and superstition in Jamaica through the eyes of the white Christian observer. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
This remarkable new dictionary represents the first attempt in some four centuries to record the state of development of English as used across the entire Caribbean region.
The method and plan of this dictionary of Jamaican English are basically the same as those of the Oxford English Dictionary, but oral sources have been extensively tapped in addition to detailed coverage of literature published in or about Jamaica since 1655. It contains information about the Caribbean and its dialects, and about Creole languages and general linguistic processes. Entries give the pronounciation, part-of-speach and usage of labels, spelling variants, etymologies and dated citations, as well as definitions. Systematic indexing indicates the extent to which the lexis is shared with other Caribbean countries.
