Raymond Antrobus, a second-generation Jamaican born and bred in East London, has been redefining what it means to be a poet in the 21st century through monologues, which Calabash co-founder Kwame Dawes describes as stunning studies of voice and substance.
While he only visits Jamaica occasionally, the young poet says he owes his graceful and finely crafted lyric poems, another characterisation penned by Dawes, to his Jamaican heritage.
“It influences my work because I know in a world where each nation has its story, I don’t think I’d be doing my job well if I didn’t understand the significance of being the son of a Jamaican man as well as an English woman. My parents had a difficult relationship, and so do their nations. These stories are significant,” he said.
Explaining his Jamaican roots, Antrobus, a former Young Poet Laureate of London, disclosed that his father, who died a few years ago, migrated to England in the 1960s to work. While he describes his relationship with Jamaica as complicated, the performer and hearing-aid user says he wants to spend more time in Jamaica so he can become more connected to his father’s homeland.
And he is doing just that. Antrobus will headline the Kingston Book Festival in March where he will launch his collection of poems, To Sweeten Bitter. He will also deliver a writing workshop for the deaf community and host the deaf poetry slam.
âLaunching my book in Jamaica will be like homecoming for me, especially because it was written after I returned from a trip to Jamaica during the period I was mourning my fatherâs death,â he said.
Even as he seeks to tap further into his Jamaican heritage as a source of inspiration, Antrobus has been building a steady body of work.
“I try to have seasons of reading, writing, teaching, and learning poems. In an ideal world, these would be structured, so I am immersed in these activities one at a time. Living in London, however, rarely allows that kind of pace,” he said.
His poems have been published in magazines and literary journals such as The Rialto, Magma Poetry, Oxford Diasporas Programme, British Council Literature, the Shooter Literary Magazine, The Missing Slate and Morning Star.
Antrobus has read and performed his poetry at various festivals and universities across the world, with his works appearing on BBC Radio 4, The Guardian, and across other media.
