Overview
LARGE PRINT EDITION. Songs of Jamaica (1912) is a poetry collection by Claude McKay. Published before the poet left Jamaica for the United States, Songs of Jamaica is a pioneering collection of verse written in Jamaican Patois, the first of its kind. As a committed leftist, McKay was a keen observer of the Black experience in the Caribbean, the American South, and later in New York, where he gained a reputation during the Harlem Renaissance for celebrating the resilience and cultural achievement of the African American community while lamenting the poverty and violence they faced every day. āQuashie to Buccra,ā the opening poem, frames this schism in terms of labor, as one class labors to fulfill the desires of another: āYou tasāe petater anā you say it sweet, / But you no know how hard we wuk fe it; / You want a basketful fe quattiewut, / āCause you no know how ātiff de bush fe cut.ā Addressing himself to a white audience, he exposes the schism inherent to colonial society between white and black, rich and poor. Advising his white reader to question their privileged consumption, dependent as it is on the subjugation of Jamaicaās black community, McKay warns that āhardship always melt away / Wheneber it comes rounā to reapinā day.ā This revolutionary sentiment carries throughout Songs of Jamaica, finding an echo in the brilliant poem āWheā fe do?ā Addressed to his own people, McKay offers hope for a brighter future to come: āWe neednā fold we hanā anā cry, / Nor vex we heart wid groan and sigh; / De best we can do is fe try / To fight de despair drawinā night: / Den we might conquer by anā byā / Dat we might do.ā With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Claude McKayās Songs of Jamaica is a classic of Jamaican literature reimagined for modern readers.
This book title, Songs of Jamaica (Large Print Edition), ISBN: 9781513137025, by Claude McKay, Mint Editions, published by Mint Editions (August 30, 2022) is available in paperback (large print). Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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