By Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance WriterALWAYS WILLING to join the march for a cause, poetry beat the lawn for the Women's Media Watch on Tuesday night. Dubbed 'Gender Fever' the regular Tuesday night poetry event took on a more specific cause with part proceeds going towards the volunteer organization.
The night was a clear argument against the idea that gender issues were simply women's issues in drag. The night featured poems on men, women and often how the two interact. There were stories of love, while some uncovered battle scars.
It was not only poetry that lent word power to the night, however. Amina Blackwood-Meeks was one of those who brought words other than poetic ones. The storyteller told two tales. The first, told by the character Miss Lady dealt with the problem of the modern youth. It discussed whether they were unmanageable because they, or at least "di big foot one dem" were possessed by spirits or whether they simply lacked discipline.
Her second story featured both 'Miss Lady' and the outspoken 'Gingbang'. This time around, Gingbang, a character who insists on being outspoken tackles the issue of eating Jamaican. "Too many of us eating a national dish that does not grow eena fi wi nation," Gingbang argued.
The story brought 'whoops' and cheers as Gingbang proceeded to point out that had we simply listened to our grandparents we would not have to be rediscovering the benefits of many of out products. Unfortunately, like Helena, we were unable to recognize cerasse.
Dawnette Hinds also delivered a story. She read an excerpt of the story 'Rock Stone A River Bottom Nuh Know Sun Hat' from Sistren Collective's Lion Heart Gyal. The story was one of a young girl who gets seduced. It takes us from her first meetings with an older man, their trysts and the painful, regretted loss of her virginity to an insensitive lover.
The night also featured performances by M'Bala, Melville Cooke, Afolashade, Ava-Gail Gardiner, Taitu Heron, Zara Heron, Neto Meeks, Ginsu, Takura and others.
In bringing the night to an end, Owen 'Blacka' Ellis touched on many of the issues of gender. He revealed mainly his poetic side, though he mixed in a little comedy between poems. He began with the poem 'Tick Tock' which looks at how history and the present have combined to create men and women who are spawned by a "prison of poverty". In this prison where "vulgarity is mother's milk daily fed," the result is women whose "power is sex" and men whose "meaning is money".
Ellis then moved on to 'Yeah Man' a poem which defined the urban macho man who takes on the guise of ginnal, lover, hustler, and shatta, creating a hard shell so he can negotiate society.
It was then time for a softer touch with 'Adam and Juliet'. In this poem, a romantic Eden, where the man and women were equal partners and both made compromises was created. The romantic touch was continued with 'Dinner'.
But the romantic euphoria was not meant to last. 'Decomposition' ensued a poem which used the poetry and music to describe a relationship on the rocks. 'Decree' brought another touch of food imagery, but this time, spiced by onions and scotch bonnet peppers it was a sadder repast.
Ellis ended with 'Mister Man' a poem which tackled men who are too afraid to show a softer side.
When last yuh fall in love
Stand up eena rub-a-dub
Sekkle eena riddim
Like a porridge eena mug? ...the poem asked, sending the audience into the night with the question "When last did you cry?"
