Thursday, April 10, 2008

"I will live an die a banana man"

Another entry in honor of National Poetry Month. When Robert Pinsky was the National Poet Laureate, he initiated the Favorite Poem Project, where various people around the nation are profiled and they read their favorite poem (President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton are featured, so you can guess how long ago this project took place).

The profiles of the people and the poems they read are emblematic of a "mixed-race" America. If you go to the website (click here) you can scroll down and see the various poems and the various people who have chosen to read these poems. And when you click on a window, it will give you the story of the person and their reasons for choosing this poem.

Among the ones I hope you will click on is "The Song of the Banana Man" by Evan Jones, a Jamaican poet, and it is read by George Scott, a Jamaican American bakery owner in Hartford, CT. My cousin "I" sent this link to me (thanks "I"). Listening to George Scott read this poem you get a feel for the language of Jamaica and the beauty of poetry. Enjoy!

No comments: