Lisa Nicely-Peterkin, Contributor
ANGELLA MARIE Williams writes from the heart, from the core of her being, and the poetry that she pens when she is deeply 'touched' thinly veils her emotions.
A 39-year-old single parent, Miss Williams is by herself, an interesting juxtaposition. She finds no shame in being the office attendant for the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica/Jamaica Exporters Association (PSOJ/JEA), but has risen above the disappointments in her life, as is evidenced by her recent feat the publication of her first book of poetry titled Break Through.
An obvious metaphor for the life of pain and seemingly endless struggles that this mother of three has endured, Break Through, was a deliberately chosen title. Each page of the 82-page book speaks to themes such as poverty, death, economic problems, ghetto life, love for nature and love for mankind.
The book, in a sense is the story of her life. Of her failure to complete high school on account of teenage pregnancy, and more recently, of days when all she had for food was 'a pound of flour, some cooking oil and a piece of scallion' which she had to creatively use to feed her three children.
'You tangled my heart', one of the poems in the book, is an emotional piece that takes the reader through the pain and heartache that the author experienced while she was young, innocent and pregnant while 'Dread a Dread' bemoans, in dub poetry style, the economic woes, crime and violence that the author foresees will be the fate of her country.
The title poem, "Break Through" moves from an expression of entrapment to a declaration of freedom and progress. It fittingly states "The moment of truth has arrived- step aside -let me ride" and closes with "I'm blossoming - breaking free at last, This is my breakthrough!"
Miss williams used the early setbacks that life threw at her as motivation for making a better life for herself and her children. Having dropped out of school with no subjects, she got a job with her doctor as a weekend domestic helper, earning $25 per day.
She moved to another family shortly after, where she did a similar job for one year. During that period she 'threw a partner' (saved with other people) and used the money to do a telephone operating/switchboard course. More domestic jobs and another 'partner' enabled her to complete a data entry course at HEART Trust (training agency) after which she landed a job at Express Graphics as a sales person. But she quit not long after, for the commission was not worth the expense and time that she had to put into the job.
In 1997, she took up a position at the Electoral Office of Jamaica as a Public Assistant, enumerating people who came into the office during the day and doing field work in the evenings. But life threw her another obstacle when she was laid off in 1998.
Two years later she picked up another job as a domestic helper with Charles Ross, the then executive director of the PSOJ. It was he who told her of the vacancy for an office attendant at
the PSOJ.
On June 5, 2000, Miss Williams remembers vividly, she started in her current job, an event that would forerun positive dramatic turns in her life.
She had long dreamed about publishing her poems, piled high in a number of exercise books pasted together. When she took a sample and showed it to staff members at the PSOJ/JEA, she was further encouraged to get them published.
Initial strong support, she recalls, came from Eileen, Camille, Karlene, Mrs. Payton, Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Rose-Brown who all believed in her dream and told her she could achieve it.
Not having the first dollar for the print cost, Angella took the initiative to seek sponsorship and is grateful that Richard Byles, Peter Melhado, Clarence Clarke, Douglas Orane, Greta Bogues and Oliver Clarke all came through for her. She also gives thumbs up to the staff members who paid for books before they came off the press. On Friday December 13, therefore, when Miss Williams launched her book at the offices of the PSOJ, she experienced a real breakthrough.
"I feel as if this is a moment in time when I have broken through a spell," she says with passion.
Moving forward to sit at the edge of her chair, her excitement intensifies as she declares, "This is a stepping stone for me. It is a breakthrough from the many rough patches that I have experienced. If I can achieve this, I can achieve more."
She has another book of poetry coming but she doesn't want to 'kill' Break Through so she is waiting for it to become established on the market. A second launch for Break Through took place at the Phillip Sherlock Centre at UWI on February 20.
A woman with a positive attitude, inspiring phrases trip off her tongue almost on the minute. "You have to recycle negative emotions into positive vibrations," she said.
Miss Williams has had many people tell her she wouldn't make it but of those people she says, "I won't let them touch my inner self or corrode my thoughts." That's enough encouragement to those who need it but she also had a word for specific groups.
"To young people, you don't have to listen to every single one of your friends. Choose your friends carefully," she says. And for the girls in school who think they have to have a boyfriend, she says, "It might not work out for every girl. They might just get you pregnant and drop you after that."
Spoken like someone who knows. Angella Williams knows for she is someone who has not only experienced the odds but has turned them into something positive. The book Break Through is available at www.sangstersbooks.com.
Lisa Nicely-Peterkin is Go-Local Content Editor.
