JIS Annual Jamaica Independence Essay Competition-2011

 Entries are now being accepted for the 11th annual Independence Essay Competition of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) in Miami. The competition forms part of the celebrations observing Jamaica’s 49th anniversary of Independence and Emancipation across the Florida communities.

The contest is open to all Jamaican children, first and second generation, and residing in Florida State, The deadline for participating entries is Friday, July 22nd. The winner in each category will be awarded with a plaque from the Jamaica Consulate General, and a monetary gift presentation from the Partners for Youth Foundation, a South Florida non profit organization committed to the enhancement and development of young women locally, and in Jamaica, through the performing arts and cultural development.

The merit to the annual Essay competition is to advance community awareness while exposing our youth to their Jamaican culture and heritage. As they research and prepare the compositions, applicants are given the opportunity to reflect on the nation’s history and culture; look at the impact of their Jamaican roots on their upbringing; and the positive events that have catapulted Jamaica and its Diaspora in the global arena. This year, selection of topics will focus on Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence to be celebrated next year.

Children in the Diaspora are being encouraged to take interest in the annual Essay Competition realizing that the occasion would inspire young Jamaicans to more seriously consider learning the island of their origin.

Students can choose from a selection of topics related to the island’s cultural heritage some of which include community leadership, entertainment, education, history and culture, geography and national development.

Applicants must be between five and eighteen years of age and resident here in Florida. There are three age categories for the responses five to eight (5-8); nine to twelve (9-12); and thirteen to eighteen (13-18).

For information on entering the contest, interested persons can contact the JIS office at the Jamaica Consulate General in Miami located at 25 Southeast Second Avenue, Suite 609, telephone (305-374-8431--ext. 232) email JISMIAMI@BELLSOUTH.NET or the Consulate’s website at WWW.JAMAICACGMIAMI.ORG

JAMAICA INFORMATION SERVICE - JAMAICA INDEPENDENCE ESSAY COMPETITION – 2011 OVERVIEW

Essay topics are as follows:

1. Talk about your experience in Jamaica as a tourist. Briefly share your adventure about one of your favorite places visited – for example a place of recreation, a historic landmark or even time spent with a Jamaican family.
2. How can the Jamaican youth in the Diaspora best contribute to Jamaica’s national development.
3. After 50 years of gaining Independence from Great Britain, would you say that Jamaica has achieved any of its goals for example political and economic freedom, and social equality.
4. Briefly describe the events that led to Jamaica’s gaining its Independence from Great Britain on August 6, 1962.
5. As Jamaica prepares for its 50th year of Independence, what are some of the achievements that have been made by Jamaicans worldwide. For example, describe the accomplishments of any one outstanding Jamaican.
6. How would you like to see Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence celebrated in your community.
7. What is your opinion of reggae music today, and explain the role that this genre of music has played in Jamaica’s social, cultural and economic development.
8. Briefly describe the significance of Jamaica’s six national symbols.

Each entrant must choose only one topic. The response must NOT exceed two pages and should be double-spaced.

Essays can be emailed to JISMIAMI@BELLSOUTH.NET or mailed to the Jamaica Information Service, 25 SE Second Avenue – Ste 609, Miami, FLA 33131.

Each entry must be accompanied by the contestant’s name, address, telephone number and age. There are three age categories for entrants: five to eight (5-8); nine to twelve (9-12); thirteen to eighteen (13-18). The deadline for entries is Friday July 22nd.

"Dentonia" by Cynthia James

Dentonia

Maybe I’ll learn to love here where

they don’t know a cold Carib is to die for;

where people don’t love like in a brighter sun

those they love ‘beat under love’

and love to death themselves and those they love -

it’s June; the stone- washed denim sky’s the same,

 roiled at cuffs; eyelet holed skyscrapers stand

tall, stick men wearing dark shades in the evening

sun beyond the baseball red brick diamond;

but a couple kissing in a street of riot

deepens faith in love amid a city’s loss,

here in Dentonia, too, among the astral yellow dandelion

weeds:  for just as many spent, a cloudy intertwining helix

spiked and seamed with DNA disperses promise

for the bissextile and even the year after:

an eternity of love. Yet flame-torched eyelids

shutter-less travelling slits, singed plucked chicken,

bare of all fine hairs and yellow skin, stand guard,

slumber-less; willing to shut out spit and sizzle -

coz every time he comes, my Saga Boy, his smile deflowers;

even when he screws the can, his Bitch, Tan-Tan can’t even run;

“Don’t light me up again ... Please ... Please...”

 ...aspergent splash ... match scratch ... Boom!

-          yolk ringed in white lace bubbles rippling in a pan of butter

pumiced flesh in heavy metal acid wash -

yet in this refuge far removed from Mango Bascapool, Doux Doux Darling,

and YES! Tabanca, love perchance again will come

in this white desert, this weedy astral dandelion patch,

eyes wide open in a whirlpool haze of summer

amid shade trees I cannot name nor claim,

(but does that really matter?)

About Cynthia James



Cynthia James is a Trinidadian, living for the past 3 years in Toronto. She writes poetry and fiction and her work can be found in publications such as Callaloo, Caribbean Writer and The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.

A New Way of Thinking: Social Media

I woke up this morning to the true meaning of social media.

The online petition to exonerate Marcus Garvey, which began on May 28, 2011 now has over 900 signatures from all over the world, and Marcus and the Amazons, my children's e-book,  is now a #1 Hot New Release at Amazon.

This would not have been possible without social media. That means you, my friends, who have blogged, shared and tweeted for these two things to happen. Really and truly, I've learned that if "we"--whatever tribe or community to which you currently belong-- put our minds together through social media, we can accomplish great things.

It has also changed my ideas about how ideas will spread. In the past, I used to worry about those who wouldn't like my work, and I'd try to win them over. No more.

*"Wasted waters's all that is
And it don't make no flowers grow"

As of today, I am giving thanks for those who do support my work and moving with that "positive" vibe:

"Say you just can't live that negative way…/Make way for the positive day."~ Bob Marley

Even as I write this, I realize how much I have been living in that "negative way" without realizing it.

The "positive day" is here. No matter what happens after this, I am going to live in that "positive vibration." I am letting go of those who won't support me and moving with those who do.

What I'm also saying is that you, my friends, should do the same. Free yourself of the tyranny of the "good opinion" of "certain people."

That may even include me. Don't worry about that. Do it for yourself.

For as Brother Bob would say, "If ah so, ah so."

Selah

*"Just the two of us" by Bill Withers

Marcus and the Amazons: #1 Hot New Release

Give thanks, my friends. Marcus and the Amazons is #1 Hot New Release @ Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/155021011/ref=zg_bs_tab

Now let's see if we can get it into the bestseller column.

Visit my author page @ Amazon: Geoffrey Philp

"Cry to Me" by Geoffrey Philp @ Smashwords

After the birth of his daughter, Pamela, David Hamilton turned away from a life of violence and transformed himself into a respected professor. But when his daughter becomes the victim of domestic violence, David must make a choice between his comfortable life or teaching Pamela's boyfriend that "real men don’t hit women.”

I've decided to publish an e-Short Story for adults @ Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/71467?ref=Philp

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Tweet the White House @ #AskObama: Exonerate Marcus Garvey

 #AskObama: Mr. President will you exonerate Marcus Garvey?

The petition now has 900+ signatures!: http://signon.org/sign/clear-marcus-garveys

At 2pm EDT, President Obama will participate in the first Twitter town hall at the White House to discuss the economy and jobs with Americans across the country. The entire event will be streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov/live.

Right now, thousands of people are talking about the event and asking questions on Twitter, using the #AskObama hashtag. Take a moment to join the conversation and ask your own question.

Don't know what a Twitter hashtag is, or where to start? We've put together an overview of the event and a link to some more information about how to get started from Twitter here:

Don’t forget: @ 2pm EDT tomorrow, head over to WhiteHouse.gov/live to watch President Obama and this exciting event. 
P.S. If you are on Twitter and can't make the town hall tomorrow, take a moment to "follow"@WhiteHouse. It's a great way to stay current with what's happening in the Obama Administration. And if you'd like to contact the White House, but don't use Twitter, you can always use the form at WhiteHouse.gov/Contact. 

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Book Review: Marcus and the Amazons

By Dr. Andrea Shaw @ Jamaicans. com

The story’s hero is Marcus, a courageous young Formica ant who has returned to his homeland to take a stand against the oppressive Amazon ants, who have enslaved his family and friends and abducted Amy, his beloved bride to be. Relying on new ideas he’s encountered while away as well as the power of community organizing, Marcus mounts a resistance to the Amazons.

The story makes obvious allusions to real life dissidents in various black nationalist and civil rights movements during the twentieth century. The main character’s name evokes Jamaican national hero Marcus Garvey, and the circumstances of the character Marcus’ enslavement suggests any number of (post)colonial moments of disenfranchisement and brutality. Yet Philp manages to shape a story that engages the imagination of both the young and young at heart.

For example, Marcus and the Amazons is peopled by an array of anthropomorphic characters, mainly ants portrayed with human characteristics, but also other creatures such as fireflies and spiders. The story features betrayal; a villainous contingency of Amazon ants, including the queen and her general; and the rescue of the fair maiden in distress. These characteristics make it easy to immediately dive into Marcus and the Amazons because of the familiar fictional territory in which the story is set. However, Philp manages to negotiate an effective conversation with an important and often ignored topic in children’s literature, enslavement and colonization, because of the painful history in which those occurrences are rooted.

Philp’s new book does an excellent job of providing a literary venue for children to learn a little about the oppression endemic to the postcolonial experience while holding their breath to see what happens next and being entertained. Furthermore, the images are a delightful characteristic of Philp’s book. Illustrated by Patrick Pollack, a young artist and family friend of Philp’s, Marcus and the Amazons boasts beautifully drawn images with vivid colors and memorably rendered characters.

For more please follow this link: Jamaicans.com

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Happy Independence Day (2011)

Happy July 4th!

Especially to my undocumented brothers and sisters who may not be able to read this because they are working.
One Heart.

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New Book: The George Lamming Reader

George Lamming

By Ricky Singh 

Readers of the inspiring works of George Lamming, one of the best known authors, essayists and social commentators of the Caribbean, are in for a treat with the release of the latest publication of a collection of his thoughts by the leading publishing enterprise in the English-speaking Caribbean -- Ian Randle Publishers (IRP).

Edited by Anthony Bogues, one of a trio of well-known Jamaica-born West Indian intellectuals and thinkers, The George Lamming Reader has been released by IRP as a refreshing new series on 'Caribbean Reasonings'.

The Lamming Reader is focused on the aesthetics of decolonisation while other titles in the series include MG Smith's Social Theory and Anthropology in the Caribbean and Beyond (edited by Professor Brian Meeks). The other series editor is the historian and writer, Professor Rupert Lewis.

There will be a formal launch of The George Lamming Reader at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination on Thursday evening to coincide with the Inaugural George Lamming Distinguished Lecture to be delivered by Professor Bogues on the theme, 'The radical imagination and the Caribbean intellectual tradition — from the Haitian revolution to the sovereignty of the imagination'.

The latter dimension of Bogues' presentation — sovereignty of the imagination — has been one of the challenging discourses associated with Lamming's frequent engagements with institutions and public fora across the Caribbean.

Dedicated to the memory of the late distinguished Caribbean citizen Rex Nettleford (a friend of Lamming), the publisher's blurb on The George Lamming Reader explains that this much-needed publication on his works examines the history of the Caribbean and the categories which "continue to shape and influence Caribbean identity in our contemporary world".

For Bogues, professor of African Studies at Brown University, USA, and director of the Caribbean Centre for Caribbean Thought at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, Lamming is "a seminal Caribbean intellectual and thinker". And to write about him is to "immediately confront the entire scaffolding of 20th century Caribbean intellectual, cultural , political and literary life..."


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Lamming-in-Caribbean-reasonings_9111237#ixzz1R40PuLcN

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Wordle of Marcus and the Amazons

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Book Giveaway: Marcus and the Amazons

Sheron Hamilton-Pearson and JamLink have given me a great idea to run another book giveaway. But this time, I want to include the kids, so I need at least three (3) writing prompts based on some of the themes in Marcus and the Amazons.

If you haven't read Marcus and the Amazons, here are some reviews (consider them to be like e-Cliff's Notes) that may give you some hints for the writing prompts:

http://amzn.to/m9DlFA

Rethabile Masilo of Poefrika has also written an extended review that may also help you to come up with a writing prompt: http://poefrika.blogspot.com/2011/07/marcus-and-amazons-by-geoffrey-philp.html

Finally, here is a list of the subjects covered in Marcus and the Amazons

Ants: etymology; food cultivation, cooperation and competition, relationships with other organisms, and myrmecophily

Black History Month

Civil Rights Movements

Caribbean American

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Non-Violence

Marcus Garvey

Friendship

Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc.

FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS

I'll be giving away  three (3) FREE Smashwords coupons (say that fast 3 times) for the three (3) winning prompts and you can enter as many prompts as you wish in the Comments section.

I know this should be a breeze, especially for the educators who are on summer vacation.

The Book Giveaway will run from July 1, 2011--July 9, 2011. I will be choosing the winners and the announcement will be posted on July 10, 2011.

The Kids Book Giveaway will run July 11, 2011—July 18, 2011.

Good Luck!

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Visit my author page @ Amazon: Geoffrey Philp

Poéfrika Review: "Marcus and the Amazons" by Geoffrey Philp

 "I could hang tens of other names on the character of Marcus, in Geoffrey Philp's book, Marcus and the Amazons, but Marcus is perhaps the better fit after all. He reminds me of people that have in some way or another crossed and influenced my life, in Africa and on every other continent. If my children have not lived through what people of my generation lived through, I'd be happy if they lived through this book."

Read more of Rethabile Masilo's review of Marcus and the Amazons over at his blog. As a poet and scientist who studied insects, Rethabile brings an added dimension to the critique of the book.

Poéfrika: "Marcus and the Amazons", by Geoffrey Philp:

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Related articles

• Marcus and the Amazons Launch at the Anancy Festival (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• Father and "Sons" Publish Children's e-book, Marcus and the Amazons (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• Marcus and the Amazons @ the Anancy Festival (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• 6 Ways You Can Help to Promote Marcus and the Amazons (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)
• My new e-book, Marcus and the Amazons, is on Sale! (geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com)

"I am not Afraid" by Etana

"What they have done to Bedward and  Marcus, Jesus and all of the prophets"

Marcus Garvey's work has inspired so many African. African American, and 

Caribbean leaders, reggae artists, singers and songwriters..including Etana.

Yet,sadly, according to the records, Marcus Garvey remains a convicted felon. 

This is why we are calling on President Barack Obama to EXONERATE Marcus Garvey. 

If you would like to join in the online petition to clear the name of a good man, of an innocent man,

here is the link:

http://signon.org/sign/clear-marcus-garveys

Sing, sign, and  pass it on:

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Visit my author page @ Amazon: Geoffrey Philp