His is another of the stories of country come to town; the boy who left his dirt poor rural community for the brighter lights of his country’s tourist city of Montego Bay for his secondary schooling, who ended up an Oxford Rhodes scholar and then becoming head of the Caribbean’s premier institution of higher learning, [...]
One of the best meals I have ever had in my life was Janga rundung and pumpkin turn-cornmeal. In fact, I am ashamed to say that I have heard that our Maroon caterers at Millbank in Portland, Jamaica, are still talking about how I invaded their “outside” kitchen to get some more [...]
Have you ever wondered which or who, in fact, is “the real McCoy” or is it “McKoy?” And what is the origin of this most common expression? Well, I should know, shouldn’t I?
Though the newspaper’s proofreader misspells it occasionally, my name is actually “McCoy” with a “C,” not a “K.” And no, I am not [...]
Sometimes a faint, unyielding redolence – announced by earth and sky – preceded rain and mingled aroma of my mother’s cooking. Symphony of raindrops married sound of bubbling, delicious fare. In not too few afternoons my mother hummed some tune, my grandmother too, seated in her red and blue armchair, silvery hair calling from beneath [...]
I parted curtains yesterday to gaze upon a world blanketed in snow – thick, heavy and seemingly luscious. My mind raced back to that first winter spent in this ancient city, when it snowed heavily, as now. Then, the space I now occupy was farmland, and these buildings upstaging the landscape, nonexistent. Much has been [...]
40 years after man lands on the moon hunger still stalks much of the global population.
In the small, rural community of Ave, in Ghana’s Volta Region, the majority of the citizens know best not to sneer at the old customs of their village, which are all steeped in the traditional religion of their Ancestors. Most of the five hundred citizens, including the elders, profess a belief in one of the [...]
This poem by fabian thomas is timely if only because of the seeming double standard in the way the IOC has responded to Michael Phelps’ latest episode with a ganja smoking bong. Bolt was chastised for celebrating his dramatic win the the 100 meters in Beijing.
The pre-eminent French language society L’Académie Française is stepping up its activity. Its barely concealed contempt for English language intrusion into the beloved français is legendary, but there are some signs that the protective veneer is wearing thin. Through the medium of the internet and the arena of business, English continues to relentlessly chip away [...]
I tried my hand at making Jamaican patties, for the first time in my long life, a few days ago! As they say in Jamaica: “The Devil always finds evil things for idle hands to do!” One should never try to make Jamaican patties in Illinois, since there is no way that they can turn [...]