Star Apple Blue and Avocado Green

$10.95

Poems by Paulette A. Ramsay

Ian Randle Publishers Bools on Amazon Kindle

Description

Much of the appeal of these poems is that of a keenly observant eye and a quietly-toned, easy voice, working with wry humour, sometimes a satiric edge, as they revise taken-for-granted positions.  These qualities work most memorably in the poems that speak for women, their point of view and self-affirmation, a strength passed down through generations.  In some of the poems, the central idea is grounded in details that memorably evoke Jamaican folk-customs and lifestyle.

Edward Baugh
Professor Emeritus, University of the West Indies, Mona

A celebration of Caribbean voice, lore and landscape, Ramsay’s poems run a wide gamut of emotions and experiences; populated mostly by women, they weave a lyrical tapestry of compelling tales about love, loss and triumphs.

Carol Bailey, PhD
Assistant Professor, Westfield State University 

Star Apple Blue and Avocado Green is a stirring collection of poetry paying tribute to the greatest attributes of life’s journey from a Caribbean, moreso Jamaican, perspective. Divided into 4 sections – Closing Doors, Speaking in Halves, Mama’s Handbag and Caribbean Global – the 62 poems in this collection call to mind the experiences of us all.

Additional information

Weight 1 lbs
Dimensions 8 × 5 in
ISBN

978-976-637-918-6

Binding

Paperback

Page Count

102

Publication Date

July 2016

Contents

Closing Doors

  1. Closing Doors
  2. Star Apple Blue and Avocado Green
  3. Potiphar’s Wife
  4. An Angry Woman Speaks to Her Body of Corpulence
  5. The Way She Was
  6. I Learned to Dance
  7. (Un)like Lot’s Wife
  8. I Have Loved and Lost
  9. Reflections on the Dirty Dishes in the Sink
  10. The Rats Come out at Nights
  11. Beijing Salute
  12. (Re)making Self
  13. Luna Mystery
  14. Naissance
  15. The Girl with the Big Heart
  16. The Reason She Sings
  17. No Memories Great Enough to Keep Me Here

Speaking in Halves

  1. Oxymoron
  2. Speaking in Halves
  3. Jordan Crossing
  4. Reluctant Neighbour
  5. Old Men Dream Dreams
  6. The Uncovering of a Mermaid
  7. (Un)wanted Poems
  8. Her Fear of Fear
  9. Going Back
  10. Praying Mantis
  11. Grief in Hyperbole
  12. Reunion Dream
  13. “Free Shampoo”
  14. Hypotheses
  1. Real Flowers
  2. Eating Words
  3. On the Edge of Hell
  4. I Remember
  5. Encounter with a Canadian Border Security Guard
  6. Caleb’s First Day in Heaven

Mama’s Handbag

  1. Mothers Make Magic
  2. The First Mother
  3. Birthing of Sons
  4. Mother Me
  5. Mothers
  6. Last Will and Testament
  7. The Family Firm
  8. A Mother’s Day Flight
  9. Mama’s Handbag
  10. The Mother of an Addict
  11. Prayer for Jennifer Pinckney
  12. They Did Not Bring Back Our Girls
  13. Forget Me Not

Caribbean Global

  1. Awesomesauce!
  2. Caribbean Global
  3. The Middle Passage
  4. When the Yellow Pouis Bloom
  5. Alternative Discourse
  6. Compliments of a Jamaican Man
  7. Dilemma of a Bandit
  8. Tony Come Home from Jail Change
  9. Human Rights
  10. Mourning a House
  11. One Hundred Years of Literary Indulgence
  12. What Google Know

 

About the Author

Paulette A. Ramsay is a senior lecturer and head of the department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The author of critically acclaimed Aunt Jen (2002), Paulette has also written, co-authored and edited several other books in both English and Spanish.

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