An Immoral Ignorance

1. Yesterday’s Ignorance My paternal great-grandmothers were ignorant women – one more so than the other. They did not mean Continue reading →

The Anxieties of Being a Black Poet in Britain

1. Some years ago, after a reading in Ireland, a major British poet wrote about me in a disparaging way Continue reading →

Apples versus Oranges; Hitler versus Jamaica CAUSE

As we sat on a terrace in Port-of-Spain, my Trinidadian friend Nicholas Laughlin rubbished the cliché that apples and oranges Continue reading →

The Banning of the Drums; or ‘How to be a Good Nigger in Jamaica’

To fully understand the present moment, some say we must understand the past that has given birth to it. So Continue reading →

On That Island of Broken Penises

Those apologists who make the spurious claim that it is always the violence of Caribbean society that spills over into Continue reading →

Homophobia: Towards A Definition

  Jamaica is presently going through a moment of hysteria. We cannot call it anything but that. The buggery law, Continue reading →

‘Pretty Hurts’ — Jamaican Style: Stories from Miss Jamaica 2014

    When the media released the picture of the latest crop of young women vying for the title of Continue reading →

#PleaseTakeOurGirls! They aren’t safe here in Jamaica.

  Just last Sunday, sitting on a cool verandah here in Jamaica, a good friend told me a story and Continue reading →