Songs of Jamaica is the first book published by the African-Jamaican writer Claude McKay, which appeared in January 1912.[1] The Institute of Jamaica awarded McKay the Silver Musgrave Medal for this book and a second volume, Constab Blues, also published in 1912. He used the associated stipend to fund a trip to the United States of America.[2][3]

The book was dedicated to Sir Sydney Olivier, who was at that time Governor of Jamaica, expressing admiration for Olivier's "sympathy for the black race". The collection was the first book-length publication of poetry in Patois by an African-Caribbean writer, and contained footnotes and an introduction by Walter Jekyll to aid readers unfamiliar with the dialect.[4] In 1906 Jekyll had published Jamaican Song and Story: Annancy Stories, Digging Sings, Ring Tunes, and Dancing Tunes which celebrated the presence of African cultural elements in Jamaican vernacular culture.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Amardeep Singh, Amardeep Singh. "Songs of Jamaica (1912): Digital Edition". Claude McKay's Early Poetry (1911–1922): A Digital Collection. Lehigh University. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Claude McKay". Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Claude McKay". acij-ioj.org.jm. African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Wayne (1996). Claude McKay, Rebel Sojourner in the Harlem Renaissance: A Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
  5. ↑ Jekyll, Walter; Werner, Alice (1907). Jamaican Song and Story: Annancy Stories, Digging Sings, Ring Tunes, and ... London: Pub. for the Folk-lore Society by D. Nutt.
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