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. "Quashie to Buccra," the
opening poem, frames this schism in terms of labor, as one class labors
to fulfill the desires of another: "You tas'e petater an' you say it
sweet, / But you no know how hard we wuk fe it; / You want a basketful
fe quattiewut, / 'Cause you no know how 'tiff de bush fe cut."
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 Jamaica's black community, McKay warns that
"hardship always melt away / Wheneber it comes roun' to reapin' day."
This revolutionary sentiment carries throughout Songs of Jamaica,
finding an echo in the brilliant poem "Whe' fe do?" Addressed to his own
people, McKay offers hope for a brighter future to come: "We needn' fold
we han' an' cry, / Nor vex we heart wid groan and sigh; / De best we can
do is fe try / To fight de despair drawin' night: / Den we might conquer
by an' by- / Dat we might do." With a beautifully designed cover and
professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Claude McKay's Songs
of Jamaica is a classic of Jamaican literature reimagined for modern
readers.
