WESTERN BUREAU:
TREASURE BEACH, St. Elizabeth, is set for a weekend of literature and music.
Known for its swimming, laid-back atmosphere, the south coast haven will host the Calabash International Literary Festival from Friday, May 25 to Sunday, May 27.
The events will be staged at Jake's Village, with several sessions each day. Writers from Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, as well as the USA and other countries, will give life to words over the three days.
Members of Poetry Society of Jamaica will perform on Friday evening. The society's Ras Rod, Neto Meeks, Cherry Natural, Meal, Tommy Rickets and Andrew Stone will be followed by 'Slam Bam, Thank You Ma'am', a two-hour journey into slam poetry.
The audience will get a chance during the open mike session and singer Farenheit is expected to close off the night's proceedings.
Erna Brodber, Pauline Melville and Sonia Sanchez are set to open the sessions Saturday morning, paving the way for Mutabaruka soon after high noon.
Edward Baugh, Easton Lee and Mervyn Morris are expected to command the following session between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., with another male trio slotted in for 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The Observer Creative Writer's Workshop will present Gwyneth Barber-Wood, Raymond Mair, Julia Rypinski, Lenworth Burke, Billson Hainsley and Kim Robinson and after they are finished it will be music time.
Abdell, Back Dignity, Chanta, Cross Culture, Dingo, Home T and Zinc Fence will provide music for mind and feet until 2:30 a.m.
The final day promises to be an eclectic mix of drama, music and literature. A staged reading of a poetic drama on the AIDS holocaust in Africa by Kwame Dawes leads up to noon. Perry Henzell, director the classic movie Harder They Come has a one-hour slot, while the work of Kamau Brathwaite, Kwame Dawes and Kalamu ya Salaam will be the focus between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Suzanne Couch's Lifeline CD will be introduced in the evening.
