Jamaica Labrish
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Jamaica Labrish is a poetry compilation written by Louise Bennett-Coverley. The 1966 version published by Sangsters is 244 pages long with an introduction by Rex Nettleford and includes a four-page glossary, as the poems are written mainly in Jamaican Patois. There are 128 poems in the book, and they tend to follow the ballad-quintrain style of writing. Nettleford says that "read at the proper pace the poem becomes almost a tongue-twister." The poems are sectioned into four parts: "City Life", "War Time", "Politics" and "Jamaica – Now An' Then". Every poem opens up with a small blurb as to what they are about, including historical insight and context.
The Oxford Living Dictionary Online says the term "labrish" most likely originated from the phrase "verbal blabber" but is defined literally as "gossip" - the origin of the word being West Indian. Jamaica Labrish is written in patois, which is defined as the “dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country”. The online, Urban Dictionary-style website Jamaican Patwah defines labrish as “gossip or chit-chat”.[citation needed]
Rex Nettleford points out an important factor to keep in mind when looking at Louise Bennett’s work, specifically Jamaica Labrish – that most of her work was meant to be performed.[1]
Introduction by Rex Nettleford
In the 1966 publication of Jamaica Labrish, Nettleford's introduction describes Louise Bennett's work as "unique".[1] The introduction explains and praises the nature of Bennett's art: Nettleford claims that “as an artist she knows what is exactly the proof of the pudding and she makes the authenticity of her dialect verses speak for itself”.
Nettleford mentions that there are other poets who do not necessarily view Bennett as a poet. He states: “there are others who would feel it is improper to endow her with the name of poet, though they would generously crown her as the leading entertainer in Jamaica’s comedy-lore, whether on stage, television or radio”.[1] However, Nettleford also points out that Mervyn Morris describes Bennett as “the only poet who has really hit the truth about society through its own language”.[1]
In the last line of the first section of the introduction, Nettleford says that “it is hoped that the volume will reveal Miss Bennett in her multiple roles as an entertainer, as a valid literary figure and as a documenter of aspects of Jamaican life, thought and feeling”.[1]