Yasus gives fest nod
Yasus Afari, conceptualiser of the Jamaica Poetry Festival, said the recently concluded 11th staging exceeded expectations.
“The quality was good, the pictures were good, the aesthetics were good, and the varying poets from around the world did an amazing job. Viewers were impressed based on feedback we’ve received. Each performer had the ingredients that helped to make the menu very appetising and tasty,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
The virtual showcase was aired live on Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica, as well as social media platforms on August 8.
Yasus Afari said viewership figures have not yet been collated. However, there was diversity in the countries they tuned in from.
“We wanted to position this festival on the world stage and achieved just that. We had viewers from the UK, Canada, Africa, the Caribbean, Japan, and the Asian Pacific,” he said.
The list of performers was headed by renowned UK-based poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson; Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Olive Senior; AkinSanya from Portland; American writer Stephen Wise; Canadians, BeExpressiceSoul and Coco LaRain; Emerson Alcalde from Brazil; and Babs Guns representing continental Europe.
The Asia-Pacific region was represented by Ambassador Shorna-Kay Richards, Jamaica’s ambassador to Japan, and Dave Collymore, a representative from the Jamaicans in Japan organisation.
The event conceptualiser was also included in the line-up with his daughter Mikaya “MiK” Sinclair. They both performed their latest single Plain and Simple.
He said there were several highlights of the evening for him, including this year’s Lifetime Achievement awardee.
“Dr Olive Senior, De Velma Pollard, and Ernie Ranglin stood out for me. Ernie Ranglin was the recipient of the Jamaica Poetry Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, but we had to go to his house and present it to him because of his health issues. That presentation was well received, and we have gotten much more feedback than we expected about it. Everything about the production was good,” said Yasus Afari.
“Every single one of the poets performed and we had a bonus — Marcia Bedrock Barham from Canada. She has a habit of celebrating her birthday at the Jamaica Poetry Festival, so she was a great addition,” he added.
