Lorna Goodison – Woman of her word
A conversation with Lorna Goodison has the dual effect of making you feel full and leaving you wanting more. On a breezy Tuesday afternoon at Devon House’s open-air eatery Cafe What’s On, the renowned storyteller is chatting with us, her gorgeous tresses blowing gently in the wind, her dapper outfit and exotic jewellery shining almost as brilliantly as her megawatt smile.
Yes, Goodison has a lot to smile about these days. Last week, she added another accolade to her impressive collection – the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence, presented by Portia Simpson Miller at a lavish Independence Day gala at Jamaica House.
For her highly acclaimed and widely anthologised work, Goodison has received many prestigious honours throughout her life – including the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, the Gold Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica and the Henry Russell Award from the University of Michigan, where she lectures in the Department of English and the Centre for African-American Studies. She remains humble amidst the praise and prizes, content with simply chronicling the lives and stories, struggles and triumphs of her people and her homeland.
A wife, mother and unabashed nature lover, Goodison sat down with us to discuss family, a little politics, her startling new book From Harvey River and why Jamaica (along with its people) always wins in her work.
all woman: Since returning home to Jamaica to share in the Prime Minister’s Independence Day Gala and Awards, what has the experience been like?
Lorna Goodison (LG): I love being in Jamaica. This is actually my fourth time in the island since the start of the year. I used to spend every summer here but now I visit as much as I can. The awards ceremony was very moving. I never once in my life thought I’d do my work because I would get something. I never had that on my mind. So when something like this happens, it is a big surprise that is well appreciated.
aw: And you shared the award spotlight with other luminaries such as former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, musicologist Dr Olive Lewin and Perry Henzell’s widow, Sally.
LG: That was mind-blowing. I actually told Miss Lewin that I was very honoured to be on the same stage with her (Laughs). It was a wonderful night.
aw: At present, you’re a Jamaican author living in the United States, who travels worldwide upon request. How important a role does place play in your work?
LG: I am definitely a poet of place. Even when I am not writing about Jamaica, it is always on my heart. One of the things I always say is that I want to tell people about my Jamaica because from time to time when I meet young African-Americans especially, all they seem to know of Jamaica is the crime and gun violence and I have to work mightily to persuade them otherwise. So most of my work is born out of a need to show people a different side of my country.
aw: You have also been widely praised for the brilliance with which you create and characterise women in your work.
LG: I think I have to credit my mother and her sisters for that. I have all of these examples and my mother was quite extraordinary. But to be honest, the strong role that women play in my work was not something that I was consciously pushing. But with all those negative stereotypes out there about Caribbean women, we have to let people know that the Caribbean has some truly extraordinary women. A lot of my poetry was crafted out of a need to praise and valorise these women.
aw: What do you think of the current state of women writers on the world literary stage?
LG: Well, I think that for a long period of time in the past there was an imbalance that needed to be corrected and some people feel that it has been corrected enough. In teaching my students, I think that experience has played a big role. I am interested in giving young writers, both male and female, the tools that will help them to better their craft.
aw: Celebrated Canadian novelist Austin Clarke describes your latest work From Harvey River as “[a] brilliant memoir” in which your “poetic language washes over us, elevating her observations of place and people to the realm of a masterpiece”. Why was it important for you to tell this story?
LG: On the surface, the book is about my mother and her family, but what I really wanted to say to readers was ‘Let me tell you about my Jamaica’. It took me 12 years to finish. It is about cooking, family and the use of language.
Everything that is quintessentially Jamaican. It is a kind of praise-song for Jamaica and those who are responsible for us being here today. At the same time, I wanted to create nuanced characters so it took a very long time to complete. I believe there is a need for balance in depicting people and places. One has to be careful that you do not create characters that are too perfect – too good or too bad – because that is when they become cartoon characters. You need balance. I did my very best with this book and my best took me 12 years (Laughs).
aw: Through your work, the reader can tell that you are very big on family.
LG: For me, family is very important. I come from a very big family; my mother had nine children. That did a lot of good for me but there are things that you have to address as you grow older. I have a lot of people who are close to me wherever I go who are not necessarily my biological relatives but they are family. My family has become richer and more complex.
aw: How do you establish a balance between your work as a full-time university lecturer, author and wife?
LG: It’s a lot of work but over the last 10 years I really pushed a lot with my writing. I think I produced a lot. I was just blessed with an extraordinary period of inspiration. Teaching is also a wonderful experience. I love my students and I love being in their company. Sometimes life just plays out the way it should. Earth runnings.
aw: Poetry. Fiction. Memoir. What’s left for Lorna Goodison to do?
LG: I recently wrote a musical with Ibo Cooper. We were commissioned to do it. It is the Moses story with a Jamaican setting. I am also a judge this year for the Giller Prize [Canada’s highest honour for fiction]. So I’ve been reading tonnes of books.
aw: Do you see yourself pursuing other ventures outside the classroom and the literary world?
LG: Well, I am a good cook (Laughs). To be honest, I don’t know. A long time ago, I abandoned any intention of planning out my life in that way. I hesitate to say what will be or what won’t.
aw: So which colour do you prefer: green or orange?
LG: You’re a wicked person (Laughs). I love all colours. I am a painter. (Laughs)
aw: Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?
LG: I would be a fool if I didn’t support Obama. I think he’s a brilliant, compassionate and rounded human being. Humans like him are rare and the world would be a better place with people like him running our business.
aw: What activities help you to unwind?
LG: My husband [author Ted Chamberlain] and I have taken up gardening. I love the natural world; it does a lot for me. We live near the sea as well so that is a huge plus. I also love music. Everybody in my family loves music.
aw: What was the last book you read that you thoroughly enjoyed?
LG: I love Alice Munro [Runaway, View from Castle Rock]. I don’t think there’s a better writer of short stories in the world. Short story writers look up to her and try to write at her level.
aw: What are some of your favourite spots to visit when you’re in Jamaica?
LG: We were spending a lot of time in Falmouth recently but I am a big Portie [Port Antonio] fan. I also love visiting Hanover where my family is from.
aw: What do you want to be your legacy when the final chapter of your life is complete?
LG: (Pause) I honestly feel I was given this work to do. It took me a long while to accept it because I used to fight it. In the end, I would love to think that I worked hard at it and did a good job. Poetry is one of the things that was given to us to help make our lives easier. I sincerely hope that through my writing, I am offering hope and possibility and helping to make people’s lives better. I am making something I hope will last and that young people can look at, examine and learn how to make themselves.
-reidt@jamaicaobserver.com
GOODISON… Sometimes life just plays out the way it should. Earth runnings. (Photo: Diana Hall)
