Devon DickON NOVEMBER 19, I attended the opening ceremony of the Kingston Bookshop in the new and impressive Duhaney Park Shopping Centre. It was very inspiring while earlier in the month I attended the graduation ceremony of the University of the West Indies (UWI), an aspect of which left me very concerned.
Steadman and Sonia Fuller have invested $35 million dollars to open two new bookstores at the Springs and Duhaney Park and used the occasion of the simultaneous openings to celebrate outstanding Jamaican authors. They honoured well-known authors including Professors Barry Chevannes, Trevor Munroe, Verene Shepherd, Dr. Olive Lewin, Dr. Velma Pollard, Hazel Campbell, Reverend Easton Lee and first-time authors Reverend Claudette Campbell, Godfrey Taylor, Dolores Flemming. However, Dr. Ralph Thompson, Michael Reckford and Lorna Goodison and others were not recognised probably due to the criteria or the process of nomination.
Nevertheless, the acknowledgement of Jamaican authors was innovative and symbolic. But the new shops have celebrated Jamaican authors by displaying their works in the display window. The better display is at the Springs but more can be done to highlight the works of local authors but they are miles ahead of their competitors in terms of the display and support of indigenous authors. The place is child-friendly with a cyber centre and space for young readers.
However, the most outstanding thing about the evening was the speech by Colin Channer, celebrated international novelist, who is the all-time best-selling novelist in Jamaica. Colin is a Bob Marley fan and his three best-selling novels are titled - Waiting in Vain, I'm still Waiting, and Satisfy my Soul; and so it was not surprising that he started his speech by singing Marley's Redemption Song. Will Redemption Song be the title of his next novel? It was a gripping, creative and novel way to start his speech and from then he did not miss a beat in his speech.
He reminded the audience that the Fullers were not just opening stores but opening minds. He challenged us to think for ourselves and believe in ourselves. In a most engaging speech he exhorted us to emancipate ourselves by the ideas we implement and spoke about his own emancipation after reading Barry Chevannes' book on Rastafari. He had a special word for emancipated women who he said belong in the house - that is, Gordon House. In a most warm and sincere way he related how he would steal books and the lessons he learnt from being caught by his mother and how that experience has taught him to value books. It was an awesome speech.
Afterwards, I told him that if he writes half as well as he speaks he is a great writer (I have not read any of his novels as yet). He is a motivational speaker of the highest order speaking extemporaneously, logically and quoting local talent. Before anyone accuses me of 'bigging up' Channer in order to get a complimentary copy of his novel, let me say that I have bought a copy already. In addition, I said these things to his face before he complimented me on my articles and my recent book that he has bought and read. Furthermore, I was not the only one who was impressed by this soul-stirring speech but also the persons who ordered copies of the tape from videographer Dennis Duncan.
However, it was a different story when I attended the graduation ceremony of my god-daughter at the UWI. The valedictorian a first Honours graduate of the faculty of Humanities and Education gave a well crafted speech, which based on content and length could have been the graduation address. The problem with the speech was the numerous foreign illustrations. While the honouree from Canada, Professor Edward Chamberlain in the graduation address quoted Lorna Goodison and used Rasta language the valedictorian's quotes were mainly foreign or should I say international. It reminds me of Oakland Barbers where the barbers speak with great facility about the English and Italian football leagues. It is a great move by TVJ to broadcast live the National Premier League so that Jamaicans can speak knowledgeably about our footballers.
But the most frightening aspect of the speech was his concept of the society. He told his fellow graduates that it is the survival of the fittest and illustrated this by reminding the audience that every morning in Africa, the gazelle has to outrun the lion to stay alive and the lion has to outrun the gazelle to get a prey in order to stay alive. In other words, the society can be likened to a jungle of fierce competitors. It is a rat race. It is a dog eat dog world. It is kill or be killed. With 937 murders, so far this year, one has to be cautious in criticising the young man. However, it is a sad day for Jamaica and the Caribbean for the best and the brightest to have that concept of the nation and the region.
In my recent published book Rebellion to Riot: The Jamaican Church in Nation Building I encouraged Jamaicans to reject the survival of the fittest model, "The competitive spirit which says 'the devil takes the hindmost' must be rejected and instead it must be affirmed that God cares for all, especially the weak, old and poor. The thinking needs to be shifted from the survival of the fittest few to the survival of the community.". The reality of Jamaica and the region must change so that potential graduates will have a better perception of life.
The two ceremonies were a mixed bag, one speech was inspiring and the other was depressing and that is a tale of the two ceremonies.
The Rev Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church.
