Passionate Poetics
Calabash Literary Festival wows once again
By Shana L. Calixte | Posted: August 02, 2005
The heart of Caribbean storytelling beats wildly on three beautiful days and nights in Jamaica once a year.
The Calabash International Literary Festival was held this past May at Jake's in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, marking its fifth anniversary of bringing to life the diverse literatures of the Caribbean.
Founded in 2001 by novelist Colin Channer along with poet Kwame Dawes and producer Justine Henzell, the Calabash festival is a three-day event, free and open to the public. Working within the Treasure Beach community with the help of over 800 people who reside there, the festival highlights the power of storytelling that is endemic to the English-speaking Caribbean region.
“Calabash was earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse when we started out in 2001 and we are the same today – only bigger and better, and more committed to celebrating the best characteristics of Jamaica and the best writing from Jamaica and the rest of the world in unexpected ways,” said Kwame Dawes, co-founder and organizer of Calabash (Please click here to see our profile of Kwame Dawes, CaribbeanTales' Featured Storyteller)
Colin Channer, festival co-organizer agrees.
“The whole reason we called the festival 'Calabash' is because the Calabash is something that is authentically Caribbean. It is a local festival in the community that is simultaneously a national festival in Jamaica, a regional festival for the Caribbean and an international festival for the rest of the world,” said Channer.
“People from all over Jamaica, from the Caribbean and from the rest of the world come to get a touch of the vibes”.
This year's theme, “The Fire is Lit” was, according to the organizers, “a tribute to literature's ability to ignite passion, bring illumination and spark change.”
This change was resonated in Calabash's tribute to seasoned star performers from all over the Caribbean. One session hosted a reading from the 50th Anniversary Edition of John Hearne's novel, “Voices under the Window”, a look at the reggae lyrics of Jimmy Cliff.
Calabash also showcased the exciting spoken word talent of the Caribbean. The session Tongues of Fire, a night of spoken word poetry/performance where poets Roger Bonair-Agard (Trinidad), Staceyann Chin (Jamaica), Joan Andrea Hutchinson (Jamaica) and Mutabaruka (Jamaica) shared their electric visions in true poetic slam fashion.
“There is something soulful and authentic here,” said Channer.
The festival also ran various workshops, video presentations and open mic sessions.
“Calabash is not about the pomposity of literature, of the specialness of literature. It is about the ordinariness of literature. Calabash is a festival for everybody. How storytelling is a vital and integral part of the Caribbean," said Channer.
Past authors who have graced the lineup of Calabash included bell hooks, Jean Binta Breeze, Earl Lovelace, Saul Williams, Elizabeth Nunez and Nikky Finney.
The raw energy and excitement of the storytelling tradition continues to echo through the Calabash festival, and will surely continue for years to come. As “passion” is the only requirement for entry into this festival, organizers want to remind all of the power of the storytelling tradition.
As Channer shared, “Go to the rum shop, go to any corners, you see fellas limin', telling stories. In the Caribbean, if a man is telling a story and 100 per cent of it is a lie - if it's a good lie, nobody stops the man! It's a good story!”
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Some of the artists at Calabash this year included:
George Elliott Clarke, recipient of the Governor General's Award and Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. Clarke has published many books of poetry, edited several anthologies and also penned various dramatic works.
Dionne Brand, who recently published her latest novel, What we All Long for was also in attendance at the festival. Brand provided an hour long session, discussing her extensive work of poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
For more information on Calabash, including who was in attendance and to find out how you can acquire the festival chapbook series, please go to the official Calabash Web Page.
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