Jamaican Literature

When we think of Jamaica’s artistic input, probably the first association is reggae, but the island's literature is also appreciated and well-known internationally. From native Jamaicans writers to those who just found inspiration there, Jamaica has an unusual literary past and a promising future. The island's literature draws its ideas from a long-lasting oral tradition of storytelling that has been continued since the days of slavery.

The most famous Jamaican folktales character is spider-god, Anancy, (also spelled Anansi, 'Nancy Spida, and Brer Nansi) is an African trickster that often goes against other animal-god characters, like Tiger and Donkey. It is said that these stories were based on the slaves’ stories who outsmarted their owners as well. The tiger, which was supposed to be a stronger one, represents the slave’s master while the spider-god is an incarnate subordinate. Worth mentioning is the fact that in folktales, the local speech was particularly necessary to infuse humor into the stories. It was also an integral part of the retelling.

The storytelling tradition was the beginning of Jamaica’s literature, presenting an original and unique core of spoken and written forms. In fact, the island's natural speech is one of the most important and interesting elements in many novels and stories. Others use language to capture the musical rhythm of the island, with its unusual beats. This can play an important role in defining the island's literary character.

When talking about Jamaican literature it is a necessity to mention Thomas MacDermot (1870-1933) who was a poet, novelist, and editor of the Jamaica Times for over twenty years. He was "probably the first Jamaican writer to assert the claim of the West Indies to a distinctive place within English-speaking culture". His novel Becka’s Buckra Baby, is said to mark the beginning of modern Caribbean writing.

The second, most notable Jamaican writer and poet is Claude McKay (1889 – 1948). He was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance in the United States also credited with having inspired the Negritude ("Blackness") movement in France. In 1928, McKay published his most famous novel, Home to Harlem, which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature.

McKay is famous for his unique writing style, which, though classical, expressed Jamaican ideas in his works. His later works helped to inspire some of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance. His works are well respected throughout the Western world, though he left Jamaica in 1912 and never came back.

Most recent, notable authors are: Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mikey Smith and Louise Bennett known Miss Lou. She is known for her usage of the rich Jamaican patois, despite being shunned by traditional literary groups. She fought forcefully for the recognition of Jamaican as a full language. In 1960, Louise Bennett was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her work in Jamaican literature and theatre.

  

The Jamaican people who fought for the usage of their patois succeeded, as they have their own translations the Bible. The island’s version of “Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment” (The New Testament) is an important step towards getting the state to eventually embrace the Creole language created by slaves.

“We’ve now produced a major body of literature in the language, whatever people may think about it one way or the other. And that is part of the process of convincing people that this thing is a serious language with a standard writing system,” quotes Hubert Devonish who is a linguist and co-ordinator of the Jamaican Language.

As an interesting example of  English-Jamaican patois translation, here we have some verses from the Bible.

“Jesus wept,”   -     “Jiizas baal.”

 “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.’”  becomes “Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, ‘Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu aal di taim.’”

Sources:    Michael Hughes, A Companion to West Indian Literature, Collins, 1979, p. 75.

                       http://jamaica-guide.info/arts.and.entertainment/literature/

                       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_MacDermot