By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter
Three poets and a guitarist: Jah Children shone with a blend of poetry and music in the Poetry Society of Jamaica's monthly fellowship at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, Arthur Wint Drive, St. Andrew on Tuesday.
THE POETRY group Jah Children took over centre stage at the monthly meeting of the Poetry Society of Jamaica at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, Arthur Wint Drive, St. Andrew, on Tuesday night.
The evening had started on a less than impressive note, with few noteworthy pieces being read. Jah Children, however, delivered an impressive set of poems, which touched on issues of violence, history, poverty and (in keeping with the handbook of the modern-day revolutionary) the 'war on terrorism'.
The group featured three poets, Duane X, Clayton Lynch and Joel Ellis, along with guitarist and vocalist Shemiah. Each poet has a very different style and the overall product is a rather interesting combination. Lynch produces a kind of dub poetry feel. Duane X is harder to brand and the metaphors he chooses as well as his cadence allow him to sound something akin to a dancehall poet. Ellis, on the other hand, delivered a style with echoes of Kamau Brathwaite.
Performing in rounds, each poet delivered his own work, though they are bound by themes. They were then tied together with Shemiah's strummings on the guitar as well as his background vocals. The night's performers also included Bull on drums.
The poets also did some choral work, often choosing words or phrases to repeat, creating something of an echo to the work being delivered.
Their greatest attribute is the difference which their combination provides. The group effect seems able to do for the local poetry scene what Bone, Thugs and Harmony provided for hip hop.
The group started out on a very strong note with three poems, Black Book Tales (Ellis), Rage (Duane X) and Rasta Poetry (Lynch). Later pieces such as Mama and I've Been Thinking would use the choral effect, though Mama less effectively so, since they could not seem to get the timing right.
Another round of impressive pieces would come in their fourth set of poems, which brought through the relationships of film, television and dancehall with poverty and violence. This segment began with Duane X's creative piece Movie, which was solely created from the titles of television shows (especially soap operas and police dramas) to popular action and comedic movies. Despite relying almost solely on the titles, the piece managed to be cohesive and make its point.
This was followed by Ellis' Dancehall. Ellis continued in the trend of speaking through names (of songs and the deejays) as he gave a vivid dissection of what is happening in dancehall, which he said is, "like fast food is good to go." The line adequately speaks to the lack of substance often pointed to in today's dancehall music.
The group ended on a very impressive note with the collaborative piece Woman. Woman also used the chorus technique but this time it worked perfectly. The interesting poem was further heightened when Ellis decided to use his segment to woo one of the women in the audience. The gathering loved it and cheered him on. It was an entertaining end to a good set.
