By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
POET CHERRY Natural and president of the Poetry Society of Jamaica Tommy Ricketts returned to Jamaica earlier this month from the 2004 International Dub Poetry Festival feeling very satisfied.
The festival took place in Toronto, Canada, from June 3 to 6 under the theme 'Exploring the Totality of Orality'.
The two went for different purposes, Cherry Natural taking part in several seminars and panel discussions, as well as performing on concerts, while Ricketts shot video footage for a CD-ROM project on the history of Jamaican poetry.
AN ANNUAL EVENT
With the only previous dub poetry festival being held 10 years ago, also in Canada, there are no intentions of having much time elapse before the next gathering is held. The objective is to make the International Dub Poetry Festival an annual event, with the 2005 event also slated for Canada.
However, the 2006 staging is slated for Jamaica.
The Poetry Society of Jamaica is in the forefront of the move to bring the 2006 International Dub Festival to Jamaica "by default, because we were there and the pitch was made to us and we accepted," Ricketts said.
He was very impressed by the organisation of the recently concluded festival, which utilised several university locations, and is "thinking of basically following how they did it, with strong support from the tertiary institutions."
He named the University of the West Indies (UWI), the University of Technology (UTech) and especially the teachers' colleges, such as
Mico and Shortwood, among the
institutions he would like to see involved in the staging of the 2006 International Dub Poetry Festival.
Ricketts noted that in terms of the staging of the festival "it will not be an exclusive group. Anybody who wants to be involved can be a part."
"It was a success," Cherry Natural said of the festival, both from an overall and a personal perspective.
She found herself one of the busiest persons involved in the 2004 International Dub Poetry Festival, as she was on the 'Women of the Word', 'Healing Stream' and 'Dub Activism' seminars (being the only woman of seven panellists on the latter), in addition to running the 'Earthwoman Vibration' workshop.
"Jamaica was well respected and looked up to. We bring it to them real," she said. So real, that she has been invited to next year's festival, also to be held in Canada.
Comparing the two dub poetry festivals which she has been to, Cherry Natural said "the festival 10 years ago was a much bigger one, but this was a more powerful and serious one, in terms of what came out of the workshops and seminars."
LEVEL OF RESPECT
Both Cherry Natural and Tommy Ricketts commented on the level of respect given to the Jamaican contingent, as well as the education level of the persons at the forefront of the dub poetry movement in Canada. "They teach at university and you want to see how them dubbing it!" Cherry Natural said.
She also pointed out that the women were instrumental in getting the festival organised and executed.
Ricketts, who was part of a two-person team sponsored by Air Jamaica, said he missed only two poets of whom footage was needed for the CD-ROM project. Miss Lou was just recovering from an illness and there were missed connections with Pam Mordecai.
Those he did get were Afua Cooper, Lillian Allen, Clyde Durm-I Broox and Honor Ford-Smith. In addition, Olive Senior and Rachel Manley are also in Canada, but they had been interviewed previously.
Ricketts noted that there was extensive press coverage, as well as interest by the wider community.
