Blog on cultural events, attractions, news from Jamaica

Of Calabashes

1/29/2020

In the South Side community of Downtown Kingston, I recently witnessed this gentleman (see video above), who goes by the name Loyal, scraping the calabash fruit. After the insides have been removed, the next step is washing and drying and then ta da! you have nature's most perfect eating vessel. Seeing him do this made me think of the Calabash Literary Festival.

This year (2020) the festival will take place between May 29 - 31. I highly recommend it. In addition to incredible Jamaican and Caribbean authors, the festival has been able to pull major international literary celebrities, from Salman Rushdie to Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. If you love books this is time well spent, and with the hypnotic background of the Caribbean sea lapping the shores at Treasure Beach, there are worse way to spend a weekend. Like the literal calabash, the festival serves up a meal perfect for book lovers.

I love books, I love reading. This year being a Calabash year Jamaica Cultural Enterprises is going to revel in literature. We will be providing transportation for a select few to go down on Saturday, May 30 with return on May 31. We are also planning literary themed tours of Kingston in the days before and after Calabash. WATCH THIS SPACE. We will make announcements in the weeks and months to come.

To find our more about the festival itself you can check their web page or social media feeds. We hope to see all our book loving friends there.

CALABASH LITERARY FESTIVAL 2020

0 Comments

Remembering the outstanding week of "Jamaica Women in Theatre Festival"

4/11/2018

0 Comments

The Jamaican theatre scene has come a long way since its start in the 17th century in Spanish Town. Today, original Jamaican productions are infused with our cultural expressions and social realities, articulated by our writers, and brought to life by a team of artists. The most commercially successful genre in Jamaican theatre is comedy, however, a new era has seen the emergence of several performance companies and independent performers pioneering new theatre styles and producing quality works through a wide range of genres.

A highlight in March 2018 was the 2nd staging of the “Jamaica Women in Theatre Festival” organized by writer, director and actress Dahlia Harris. The festival ran from March 19 to March 25, showcasing works from talented Jamaican women writers, directors, and actors.

The festival showcased a diverse array of short plays, play extracts, play readings and video installations, but a common theme running throughout was identity and culture. Among the works mounted was an extract from Centerstage’s comedic drama “Right Girl, Wrong Address“, which highlighted actresses Sakina Deer and Sharee Elise.

0 Comments

Jean Small - a life steeped in creativity

10/29/2017

0 Comments

Jean Small is who I want to be when I grow up.

In her 70s she completed her doctorate (so that's Dr. Jean Small to you). This is after a lifetime of having been a teacher of French and theatre, having been a playwright, having been an actress. Now in her 80s, she has just published two books, one a collection of poetry and the other of short stories. Today October 29 there was a launch at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies. This is what Carolyn Allen had to say about the poetry collection:

"This is a collection of 16 poems—varied in length and style. They are announced as “poems of loss” and indeed the central theme weaving its way through them is the pain we suffer when separated from loved ones, most poignantly by death in the title poem, in “Lament”, “Car Crash” and “If Only Bob Could Sing” We find the recurring image of a hole, a symbol of the emotion,the emptiness one feels. But there is nothing blank or monotone in these poems There is range in approach and subject. The loss depicted also comes from the separation of divorce and desertion, the deep disappointment of the end of a love affair. Big ooman tings. And we feel it because of the fundamental honesty of the emotions expressed."

The poems and stories, through the range of themes and settings, are good reads for those interested in understanding and appreciating Jamaican life. Much of what is depicted about Jamaica in literature and film deals with gangs and criminals. This is not that. These works show people in all walks of life, in varying circumstances. Additionally, given that they're drawn from Jean's own life and encounters, they reflect an honest picture.

To order Revelations, the collection of short stories, click here
For information about purchasing the poetry collection, Send Me No Flowers, email me at khutchinson@jaculture.com

Happy reading!

0 Comments

Of Calabashes

Remembering the outstanding week of "Jamaica Women in Theatre Festival"

Jean Small - a life steeped in creativity

Author

Archives

Categories