The National Library of Jamaica (NLJ) has been steadily making strides in the digital field and if you have not yet explored its website and the services the Library offers, then I would recommend that you do so. It is not a sleepy backwater nor is it a kind of colonial fossil; it is innovative and a treasure trove of history and culture.
So, there is a new arrival at the NLJ: the Jamaica Poetry Archive, which offers an extensive collection of Jamaican poetic works and aligns with NLJ’s mission to leverage technology for cultural preservation. “This archive will serve as a vital educational resource for literature students, offering audio recordings of poets reciting their works,” says the NLJ. More than that, it will be a resource for many such as myself, who love and appreciate Jamaican/Caribbean writing. Its time has come! Take a look – it is beautifully designed. By the way, you can also nominate a living Jamaican poet for the archive. It is not static, it is building.
In collaboration with the Poet Laureate of Jamaica Programme, the NLJ hosted an event named “Strictly Poetry” to officially launch the Jamaica Poetry Archive on September 21, 2023 at West Kings House Road, Kingston.
The event brought together the Jamaican literati, including renowned poets such as former Poet Laureate Professor Emeritus Meryvn Morris, Ann-Margaret Lim, Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa, Dr. Amina Blackwood- Meeks and Oku Onuora, among others, who read their poems from the archive. Senior lecturers from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Edna Manley College, University of Technology (UTech), The Mico University College, and Shortwood Teachers’ College, were also present.
Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Dr. Olive Senior noted: “As one samples the archive, they will see that far from occupying a rarified atmosphere beyond everyday concerns, as some imagine poets do; poets employ their skills in the service of society. Poets perceive, interpret, and then present. Or should I say, represent. Because a special gift of the poet is to use language to help us see the everyday in a whole new light,” said Senior. I would add that Senior herself has a particularly precise skill at doing just that; I am thinking of her “Pandemic Poems” and some of the newer poems in her collection “Hurricane Watch,” which was launched at UWI Bookshop last year.
“Through the poetry archive now and in the future, you can now see and hear poets. You can bring them into the classrooms, your homes, your car and reawaken the role poetry once played in our lives in bringing us together in familiarity and community,” Senior continued.
She appealed for the “controllers of funds” to partner with the NLJ’s Poetry Archive to ensure that our cultural legacy remains intact and continues to thrive.
“If you are in a position of influence, we would like your help to fulfil the promise of the archive as a vital role contributor to nation building…In the same way that we promote our sports heroes and our entertainers, I hope we will also begin to see the value of the literary arts and give equal recognition to our writers at home and abroad, who are also flying high the Jamaican Flag,” Senior continued.
Dr. Lisa Tomlinson, lecturer in Film, Culture and Literary Studies at UWI stated that she believes “the archive will give students a wide variety of poems to explore and also give them the sense that poetry is not just about writing.”
“Poetry is about unveiling Jamaica’s culture and history. Even when the poets were reading, you could hear a lot of social commentary coming out. I just hope we get to add more younger poets to the collection,” said Tomlinson. Yes, there are certainly a number of very gifted younger Jamaican poets to be added.
The Archive will provide access to audio recordings of poets reciting their works, allowing listeners to engage with the nuances of pronunciation, rhythm, and emotion that make poetry a living, breathing art form. It will be freely accessible to students, educators, researchers, and the general public; a showcase, and a window into the beautiful and diverse world of Jamaican poetry.
To explore the archive visit japoetryarchive.nlj.gov.jm. Members of the public are welcome to visit the National Library of Jamaica or make appointments by email at nljresearch@nlj.gov.jm or by telephone at(876) 967-2494 for research needs.
“The National Library of Jamaica under the leadership of the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has distinguished itself from the widely held notion that libraries are becoming obsolete. In fact, the NLJ is demonstrating in a significant way that the library is the place where innovation starts,” said the Permanent Secretary responsible for Culture, Dean-Roy Bernard.
No way are libraries obsolete. They should constantly renew themselves. They are alive. We need more of them.
