Hello! It’s June and I find myself very well-placed, facing the Caribbean sea where (as I type this) Dennis Brown is the chosen café music (exquisite chooice). June is Read Caribbean Month and I’m reaching out on threads to share some excellence with you. As a lover of Caribbean poetry, all things dub poetry, all things lyrical, all things Caribbean diaspora, this is a favourite time of year for me. As it’s June, I am taking in all the Caribbean love and appreciation from wherever I can find it. Let’s start with Grace Nichols, a poet whose words live readily on my tongue. As a Guyanese poet writing in the UK, Nichols contributed much to the poetry and portrait of what it meant to be a Caribbean person in the UK. The idea of archiving your very identity is some of the hard work that Nichols makes look light. Here is a poem that I think encapsulates her work well, ‘Epilogue’:
Have you read any of Grace Nichols’ work? Let us know if there are any other Caribbean writers who you lovee and can recommend!
I'm so glad to see someone else writing about this too on substack (!!). I have never heard of Grace Nichols' work but enjoyed reading some of the anecdotes shared. In terms of my favorite Caribbean writers, I love Rosario Ferré and Gabriel García Márquez and am hoping to finally read Maryse Condé soon. I just found out too that June is Caribbean Heritage Month in the States and complied a family-friendly cheat sheet of artists and authors to check out on my website for anyone whose interested: alynaomie.com.
Thank you so much for sharing!! I am looking forward to diving into some of these. And what a gift, I'm looking forward to checking out that cheat sheet. Love the Caribbean love going round, I'm learning so much too!
A Grace Nichols poem that conjures great wonder for me is about a freak hurricane that hit the south coast of England in 1987. I was around eight at the time living in a seaside town called Brighton. I can still see my parents coming to check on my brother and I on that turbulent night as the wind howled and the trees fought a losing battle with the vicious wind. We were excited at first but then…
I love how Grace interpreted this event as the coming of the ancient gods from the Caribbean, "of old tongues reaping havoc in new places". Of a distant past catching up a migrant woman now living in England.
***
It took a hurricane, to bring her closer
To the landscape.
Half the night she lay awake,
The howling ship of the wind,
Its gathering rage,
Like some dark ancestral spectre.
Fearful and reassuring.
Talk to me Huracan
Talk to me Oya
Talk to me Shango
And Hattie,
My sweeping, back-home cousin.
Tell me why you visit
An English coast?
What is the meaning
Of old tongues
Reaping havoc
In new places?
The blinding illumination,
Even as you short-
Circuit us
Into further darkness?
What is the meaning of trees
Falling heavy as whales
Their crusted roots
Their cratered graves?
O why is my heart unchained?
Tropical Oya of the Weather,
I am aligning myself to you,
I am following the movement of your winds,
I am riding the mystery of your storm.
Ah, sweet mystery,
Come to break the frozen lake in me,
Shaking the foundations of the very trees within me,
ughhhh yes!!!!! This poem is glorious, I remember feeling a deep knowing of what Nichols was referring to when I first read it, even though I didn’t experience this hurricane! Love your personal memory of this event too, thanks for sharing it with us.
“What is the meaning
Of old tongues
Reaping havoc
In new places?”
is a line that stays with me. Thanks so much for bringing this poem into the conversation Amar!
Also, I'm so grateful that you brought in John Agard into the conoversation. I was first introduced to John's work in high school with 'Checking Out Me History'. South London Rapper/Artist Loyle Carner released a song with the poet here, honouring his Guyanese roots - youu may like it if you haven't already come across it! I share it here:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzo_-9KJTs
It was a hell of a night💨 The next morning, the aftermath, was like waking up in a disaster movie.
I think you planted the seed for this recollection by mentioning Grace. I came to here through John's work. He was one of the poets we 'studied' at a kids' writing project that I volunteer at. It's called the Ministry of Stories (ministryofstories.org)
Incredible, I can only imagine the next morning. And 100%, two MCs!! I think it is a perfect collaboration and merging of their poetics. I will check out those links too!
I'm so glad to see someone else writing about this too on substack (!!). I have never heard of Grace Nichols' work but enjoyed reading some of the anecdotes shared. In terms of my favorite Caribbean writers, I love Rosario Ferré and Gabriel García Márquez and am hoping to finally read Maryse Condé soon. I just found out too that June is Caribbean Heritage Month in the States and complied a family-friendly cheat sheet of artists and authors to check out on my website for anyone whose interested: alynaomie.com.
Thank you so much for sharing!! I am looking forward to diving into some of these. And what a gift, I'm looking forward to checking out that cheat sheet. Love the Caribbean love going round, I'm learning so much too!
A Grace Nichols poem that conjures great wonder for me is about a freak hurricane that hit the south coast of England in 1987. I was around eight at the time living in a seaside town called Brighton. I can still see my parents coming to check on my brother and I on that turbulent night as the wind howled and the trees fought a losing battle with the vicious wind. We were excited at first but then…
I love how Grace interpreted this event as the coming of the ancient gods from the Caribbean, "of old tongues reaping havoc in new places". Of a distant past catching up a migrant woman now living in England.
***
It took a hurricane, to bring her closer
To the landscape.
Half the night she lay awake,
The howling ship of the wind,
Its gathering rage,
Like some dark ancestral spectre.
Fearful and reassuring.
Talk to me Huracan
Talk to me Oya
Talk to me Shango
And Hattie,
My sweeping, back-home cousin.
Tell me why you visit
An English coast?
What is the meaning
Of old tongues
Reaping havoc
In new places?
The blinding illumination,
Even as you short-
Circuit us
Into further darkness?
What is the meaning of trees
Falling heavy as whales
Their crusted roots
Their cratered graves?
O why is my heart unchained?
Tropical Oya of the Weather,
I am aligning myself to you,
I am following the movement of your winds,
I am riding the mystery of your storm.
Ah, sweet mystery,
Come to break the frozen lake in me,
Shaking the foundations of the very trees within me,
Come to let me know
That the earth is the earth is the earth.
You can listen to her read it here and be transported. That final stanza alone! https://poetryarchive.org/poem/hurricane-hits-england/
Her husband John Agard is also a brilliant poet. My favourite: https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/checking-out-me-history
ughhhh yes!!!!! This poem is glorious, I remember feeling a deep knowing of what Nichols was referring to when I first read it, even though I didn’t experience this hurricane! Love your personal memory of this event too, thanks for sharing it with us.
“What is the meaning
Of old tongues
Reaping havoc
In new places?”
is a line that stays with me. Thanks so much for bringing this poem into the conversation Amar!
Also, I'm so grateful that you brought in John Agard into the conoversation. I was first introduced to John's work in high school with 'Checking Out Me History'. South London Rapper/Artist Loyle Carner released a song with the poet here, honouring his Guyanese roots - youu may like it if you haven't already come across it! I share it here:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzo_-9KJTs
It was a hell of a night💨 The next morning, the aftermath, was like waking up in a disaster movie.
I think you planted the seed for this recollection by mentioning Grace. I came to here through John's work. He was one of the poets we 'studied' at a kids' writing project that I volunteer at. It's called the Ministry of Stories (ministryofstories.org)
This was very popular: https://childrens.poetryarchive.org/poem/bridge-builder/
Yes, John works well on that track with Loyle. Two MCs doing their thing. The video is a stunner too.
Incredible, I can only imagine the next morning. And 100%, two MCs!! I think it is a perfect collaboration and merging of their poetics. I will check out those links too!