JAMAICA | Jamaican Poets Nomadic College Set for Oct. 25

KINGSTON,  Jamaica, October 5, 2022 - It began with a vision. It is now a mission to share the joy and beauty of poetry with students, and the people of Jamaica. To show students how the magic of poetry can be used to increase one’s cognitive skills, to help with conflict resolution, to help with the process of healing after trauma and challenging situations in our daily lives, to model the way, to uplift, to educate, and in the process, liberate ourselves from the many constructs that surrounds us.

And now, the stage is set. Excitement and expectations are building for the 2022 edition of the Jamaican Poets Nomadic College and School Tour.

For three weeks from Tuesday, November 25, 2022, to Thursday, November 10, a stellar line up of poets will visit educational institutions across the length, and breadth of Jamaica to share their gift and talent.

The official launch of the tour will take place on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at 7 PM, at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.

It is will be in partnership with the Poetry Society of Jamaica. Guest speaker for the occasion is the distinguished lady of letters, Caribbean author and scholar, Dr. Opal Palmer-Adisa.

Education and Youth Minister Fayval Williams, as well as the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Olivia Grange, have both been invited to bring greetings.

Greetings will also be brought by Dr. Rachael Moseley-Wood, head of the Department of Literature in English, UWI, Mona, and representatives from the Jamaica Copyright Society (Jam Copy), the National Library of Jamaica, and the Poetry Society of Jamaica, will bring brief greetings.

The evening will conclude with readings by some of the poets who are participating on the tour. Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks is officiating at the launch, and she is also a participant on the tour.

The Tour will also be partnering with the Department of Literature in English to host a free poetry workshop on the Mona Campus for students, faculty, and the general public.

Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks will present on Storytelling and Stage Presentation. Poet Cherry Natural will present on Dub Poetry, and Poet Ann Margaret Lim will present on other genres.

One of the main strengths of the tour is the richness of the offerings from poets with different styles and background. It is headlined by the founder of the tour Malachi Smith.

The other poets are, Dr. Opal Palmer-Adisa, Dr. Amina Blackwood-Meeks, Chery Natural, Tomlin Ellis, Ann Margaret-Lim, Curtis Myrie, Judith Falloon-Reid, Fabian Thomas,  Wise Wurdz, Christine Neil-Wright, Antonia Valaire, Howard Hendricks, Ras Jaja, Marcus Harrison, Garfield G.G. Gouldbourne, Anord Sichinsambwe, Amaziyah The Great, Alan Parish, Dawitt St. Aubyn, Dusty, Charlie Bobus, and the youngest of all, Courtney Greaves, AKA Mini Miss Lou, a multi-gold medalist winner in the annual J.C.D.C competitions.

University of the West Indies students from the Creative Writing Programme, Writer’s Circle, will also be participating on the tour.

The Tour was launched in 2017, to provide opportunities for Jamaican poets to read and share with students, while showing the positive role of poetry and its role as a tool of empowerment. 

It aims to also empower, while showing them how poetry can be used in conflict resolutions and their personal growth. Due to the Pandemic, it had to be postponed for the last two years.

Through the years, the tour has made stops at, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mico University College, Northern College University, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Bethlehem Teacher’s College, Kingston Technical High School, Campion College, Mount Alvernia High School, Cornwall College, Munroe College, St. Elizabeth Technical High School, the YWCA School in Spanish Town, Spanish Town High, Ocho Rios High School, Bishop Gibson High School, Glenmuir High School, Mona High School, White Marl and Iris Gelly Primary schools, JYTC Auditorium, (Students from six Corporate Area high schools were bussed to this facility including St. Hughes, Norman Manley, Pembroke Hall, Meadowbrook), Bookophilia, Church on the Rock, and one public reading in Montego Bay.