Youth ‘full-ticipation’ at poetry fest
The youth presence at the August 13 Jamaica Poetry Festival was strong enough to warm the heart of an old head like Yasus Afari, its founder.
While stalwarts again dominated the event, held at Louise Bennett Garden Theatre in St Andrew, their younger counterparts made a commendable showing.
Yasus Afari told the Jamaica Observer that the festival’s Youth Ambassador Programme, instituted last year, has paid dividends.
“The Youth Ambassador Programme started with Skip Marley at JPF 2022 and now Jazzy J (Jazmine Headley) our open-ended international youth ambassador. The workshops had a major influx of youth which carried over into the main event, The Feast of Poetree Showcase. So, our youth ‘full-ticipation’ keeps growing. So stay tuned for what we have in store for Jamaica Poetry Festival 2024,” said the veteran poet, who was also one of the show’s presenters.
While participation of aspiring poets was encouraging, the JPF’s 13th staging saluted three giants — folklorist/actress Louise Bennett-Coverley, American actor/singer Harry Belafonte, and Lebanese thinker Khalil Gibran.
There was also a creative arts workshop conducted by master drummer Calvin Mitchell of the Edna Manley College of the Performing Arts and Dr Joseph Farqhharson, a lecturer in the Jamaica Language Unit at The University of the West Indies, Mona.
Proceeds from the Visions of Hope Charity Dinner were donated to Jamaica Society For The Blind.
Presenters this year included professors Edward Baugh and Clinton Hutton, Jazzy J, tourism minister Ed Bartlett, and singer/musician Boris Gardiner.
“The Jamaica Poetry Festival lived up to the very high expectations which we have occasioned our audience to develop in JPF. In fact, it’s reasonable to say we really exceeded those expectations,” said Yasus Afari.
