Anansi and Miss Lou

Posted: under "Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett".
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Anansi, Miss Lou and the ‘raw chaw’ argument

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Published: Sunday | March 8, 2009
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Killing originality
In one of her wicked poems, ‘Bans a Killin’ Miss Lou persuasively argues that Jamaican - which she calls ‘dialect’ - is not inferior to English. And she firmly puts in his place censorious Mas Charlie who, somewhat like the Broadcasting Commission these days, is trying to kill off verbal creativity in the slack local language. Here are the first two and the last two verses of Miss Lou’s poem:
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So yuh a de man me hear bout!
Ah yuh dem seh dah teck
Whole heap a English oat seh
dat
Yuh gwine kill dialect!
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Comments (0) Mar 08 2009

Back to Africa

Posted: under "Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett".
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“Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett”
Back to Africa

LOUISE BENNETT
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Back to Africa, Miss Mattie?

You no know wha you dah seh?

You haf fe come from somewhe fus

Before you go back deh!

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Me know say dat you great great great

Granma was African,

But Mattie, doan you great great great

Granpa was Englishman?

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Comments (0) Sep 29 2008

“Colonizing in Reverse”

Posted: under "Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett".
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“Jamaica Labrish ~ Louise Bennett”
“Colonizing in Reverse”

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Jamaica people colonizin
Englan in reverse.
By de hundred, by de t’ousan
From country and from town,
By de ship-load, by de plane-load
Jamaica is Englan boun.

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Dem a-pour out o’ Jamaica,
Everybody future plan
Is fe get big-time job
An settle in de mother lan.

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Comments (0) Sep 29 2008