Tag Archives: RKS literature

RKS Literature: A Jamaican Contemplates Fighting a White Man’s War (Andrea Levy)

“Perhaps my cousin Elwood was right, ‘Man this is a white man’s war. Why you wanna lose your life for a white man? For Jamaica, yes. To have your own country, yes. That is worth a fight. To see black skin in the governor’s house doing more than just serving at the table and sweepingContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Jamaican Contemplates Fighting a White Man’s War (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: A Jamaican Soldier Reflects on Food and Women (Andrea Levy)

“My mirror spoke to me. It said: ‘Man, women gonna fall at your feet’. In my uniform of blue-from the left, from the right, from behind-I looked like a god. And this uniform did not even fit me so well. But what is a little bagging on the waist and tightness under the arm whenContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Jamaican Soldier Reflects on Food and Women (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: Coloreds Coming to England for Spectacles and Good Grins Courtesy of NHS

“For the teeth and glasses.” That was the reason so many colored people were coming to this country, according to my next-door neighbour Mr Todd. ‘That National Health Service-it’s pulling them in, Mrs Bligh. Giving things away at our expense will keep them coming.’ He said. He might have had a point except, according toContinue reading “RKS Literature: Coloreds Coming to England for Spectacles and Good Grins Courtesy of NHS”

RKS Literature: A Jamaican Thrilled at the Possibility to Move to 1948 England (Andrea Levy)

“But what aroused her more than anything else about this man was the thrill of knowing that he wanted to make a life for himself in England. She could see herself ringing the bell on that tall house. He wants to return to England soon. She would sail far away from this island, safe inContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Jamaican Thrilled at the Possibility to Move to 1948 England (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: The “Superiority” of White Women in 1948 Jamaica (Andrea Levy)

“I hungered to make those children regard me with as high an opinion as I had for the principal and tutors at my college. Those white women whose superiority encircled them like an aureole, could quieten any raucous gathering by just placing a finger to a lip. Their formal elocution, their eminent intelligence, their imperialContinue reading “RKS Literature: The “Superiority” of White Women in 1948 Jamaica (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: The American Evangelist Mr. Ryder Spreads More Than Just the Good Word in Jamaica

“So it was no one’s surprise that gossip about the Ryders followed close behind: in shops, under the shade of trees, on street corners, at the food tables, the busybodies discussed when they saw Mr Ryder where Mr Ryder should not have been. When a pretty woman produced a fair skin baby with a completelyContinue reading “RKS Literature: The American Evangelist Mr. Ryder Spreads More Than Just the Good Word in Jamaica”

RKS Literature: The Twitching and Frothing Evangelists (Andrea Levy)

“The Ryders were evangelists and Mr Phillip had no time for evangelists.  He did not like the way that people moved by the spirit of the Lord threw themselves to the ground shaking and frothing at the mouth like beasts. He could not understand that, as the service came to a close, those same peopleContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Twitching and Frothing Evangelists (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: “Little Miss High-class from Jamaica Arrives in 1948 London” (Andrea Levy)

“Man, this woman is a barb under my skin-she irritate me so I lose my temper. I tell her. “Yes, and you know what else, little Miss Stick-up-your-nose-air, you will have to wash your plate, your vegetable and your backside in that basin too. This room is where you will sleep, eat, cook, dress andContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Little Miss High-class from Jamaica Arrives in 1948 London” (Andrea Levy)”

RKS Literature: A Governmental Addiction to Gambling (Brad Smith)

“I can’t bet here? What the hell happened to this place?” She looked at him as if he’d just stumbled down from the hills. “What happened was, they either had to put in the slots or close the doors. I don’t know where you’ve been, but the province has gone casino crazy. The government hasContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Governmental Addiction to Gambling (Brad Smith)”

RKS Literature: Inside Jail Thinking About Getting Out (Brad Smith)

“On the inside, all a man thinks about is getting out. Night and day, it’s always there, like an unfulfilled promise-that always indistinct point of time somewhere in the distance when he is no longer in stir. It occupies a man’s head when he is thinking about it, and it occupies his head when itContinue reading “RKS Literature: Inside Jail Thinking About Getting Out (Brad Smith)”