THE EDITOR, Madam:
A FEW nights ago I had the pleasure of re-acquainting myself with Ms. Lou. I was listening to a CD of her live. Remember her? The Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverly. The grande madame of Jamaican culture, the pioneer who blazed trails amongst a tide of roast breadfruits running away from their culture in the 1950s and 1960s.
Take a look back at some of those old Gleaner editorials. The colonial mentality is so sad its hilarious. But she rose above that and gained latitude and prominence in the 1970s but was later forced to migrate. Out of political divisiveness, a gem to the nation was lost. Her professional and personal commitment to uplifting Jamaica's culture was beyond malicious political behaviour.
And so she migrated to Canada away from the seat of her creations, the island itself, to live in de cold metropole and stay there. The Jamaica Development and Cultural Commission is still there and she is in Canada. The University has a Creative Arts Centre and she is still in Canada. The Edna Manley School has a School of Drama and Ms. Lou is in Canada. What a preke.
Yet her spirit survives in a trickle, children still turning out her poetry at Festival Time. Still, the nation should be embarrassed. The government should be ashamed that they allowed politics to rule over the good of the nation. She has been proposed as a national heroine several times by nuff people in the newspapers, on the radio and so on. But de government and de establishment run from it. Ah wonda why? Jamaicanese/patois is still not a language? Still running from we culture. Running an' we running away.. but we can't run away from ourselves.. sounds familiar?
Bob is a nex' one that we are ambivalent about. After all how can a ganja-smoking Rasta man who breed nuff oman, who put Jamaica on the map, who uplifted us and the rest of the world with his music and wisdom, be a National Hero? Even after the Jamaica Tourist Board use his song 'One Love' - "come to Jamaica and feel alright". Oh no, that wouldn't be right!
I am etc.,
REBEKAH LAWRENCE
Kingston 8
Via Go-Jamaica
