By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter 
Professor Maureen Warner-Lewis during her farewell tribute, 'Praisesong for Maureen' held at the Phillip Sherlock Center for the Creative Art, U.W.I., Mona campus. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
'PRAISESONG FOR Maureen' was the apt title of the Department of Literatures in English, University of the West Indies, Mona campus', farewell tribute to Professor Maureen Warner-Lewis. The tribute took place on the campus on Wednesday night.
The evening saw the theater at Phillip Sherlock Center for the Creative Arts almost filled to capacity with the family and friends, colleagues and past students of the lecturer.
As Warner-Lewis, regally decked out in blue, would note in her reply the evening presented a thougthful reflection of her. The night blended comments from descriptions of the Professor of Orature's personal and professional lives from her colleagues and past students.
TRANSITION
In her capacity as MC, Carolyn Allen, tutor coordinator for the Phillip Sherlock Center, noted that the evening was a marker of Warner-Lewis' "transition from active, paid, demanding service" to having time for all those things she never had time to do.
"It is intermission, not the end," remarked Professor Rex Nettleford, vice chancellor of the university. Nettleford spoke about Warner-Lewis as her work reflected on the university. He described her as "gifted, self-effacing and iconic" and noted that her work had greatly impacted upon not only literature but also on cultural studies and critical theory.
Nettleford argued that Warner-Lewis' having received praise from her colleagues was a marked reflection of the calibre of her work. "When you get praise from your colleagues you say 'Thank you God for Jesus'," he remarked to the amused audience.
It was Professor Edward Baugh, however, who summed up the retired professor with the word 'nice'. Baugh explained that 'nice' is a pariah for teaching and critiquing literature. "Nice was a comfortable word, a common word, but a cheap word for admirable or good," he said. He went on to explain, though, that at times it is perfect. "Sometimes nice is the nicest word and it's the word I need now," he said.
"Maureen is one of the nicest persons that I've ever known," he said, much to the audience's delight. At the beginning of his delivery Baugh had explained that he would be giving his personal impressions of her. Many of those impressions were arrived at from their approximately 30 years as colleagues.
"It strikes me now that I should have written a poem, a praisepoem, but as usual I'm thinking too late," he said. He then went on to regale the audience with anecdotes that crafted his opinion of her. "She's one of those persons with absolutely no chips on her shoulder," he said.
Warner-Lewis' husband, Professor Rupert Lewis, also delivered his impressions of her. Lewis told of their travels together and his wife's dedication to her work. "Through Maureen I've been able to understand the geniuses that function behind new waves of thought," he said. "She has a very ordered mind, a very logical mind."
'Praisesong for Maureen' also included an address by His Excellency Dennis Francis, High Commissioner, Trinidad and Tobago, Warner-Lewis' home country.
Vivian Crawford, director of the Institute of Jamaica, spoke about Warner-Lewis' contributions as the longest serving member of the advisory board of the African and Caribbean Institute/Jamaica Memory Bank.
Two past students, Paulette Bell and Claudine Housen, gave their perspectives on Warner-Lewis as a teacher. Bell was from the early era of Warner-Lewis' sojourn as a lecturer, while Housen was in the last group she taught in 2003.
ORCHESTRATION
The night was orchestrated to reflect the various aspects of Warner-Lewis' life. Much of Warner-Lewis' professional life has been a study of African retentions in Caribbean culture. As such, the evening began with 'Yoruba Prayers' and a version of 'Libation'. Its authenticity was hampered by the replacement of rum by wine. "The ancestors are also adaptable," explained Dr. John Bewaji in his prelude to the libation. Bewaji would also return to perform the closing ceremony.
'Drum Talk', performed by M'Bala and Osa, evoked Warner-Lewis' study of folk culture, while Julien Neaves' performance of 'Pan Rap' by Paul Keens Douglas married her Trinidadian heritage with her study of oral literature.
Baugh had noted that though Warner-Lewis passionately studied African religions she is a devout Christian. Velia Espeut's delivery of Amazing Grace brought forward that element. Finally, the romantic side of her life was tied in through a dance by Jermaine Rowe and Tamara Noel, who performed to Time After Time.
It was a night of fond words, admiration and farewells for a lifetime of work. It was a 'Praisesong for Maureen'.
