Bluefoot Traveller [antikvár]

I am pleased to have the opportunity to edit a revised edition of Bluefoot Traveller. The original anthology was intended to reflect and highlight the work of Caribbean poets living in Britain. This second edition continues that aim. Since the first Bluefoot Traveller appeared in 1976, new developments have called for a fresh selection of poems. Britain's Caribbean community has sharpened its pride in showing its ethnic arts. It involves itself much more intensely with expressing its cultural background, it has become more active in writing and publishing and in the opening of local bookshops. It is also active in the visual and performing arts and in self-help education. The original edition of Bluefoot Traveller which featured 12 poets has been expanded to include the work of 19 poets. This new edition is able to rectify previous omissions. In the original anthology there were no women contributors. Suitable work from women writers had not been submitted or found. That situation is changed here. Also, with the exception of Linton Kwesi Johnson who was 11 years old when he arrived, all the contributors were adults when they came to Britain. Now, writers who were born in Britain or have spent most of their childhood here are included. I have tried to retain poems from the original anthology which continue to have an immediate relevance. The old poems with the new seem to fall easily into 5 sections. Poems in section 1 reflect a Caribbean village background, beginning with the sea. 'Caribbean Work Sing' offers a reflection of the old communal spirit with villagers working in the field singing a group song. In 'Banana Talk', bananas praise their god, the Sun. 'Legend' explores the mysteries of a witchcraft man. The title poem, 'Bluefoot Traveller', is based on the Jamaican term 'Bluefoot'. This refers to an outsider, a man from another county or parish who has come to settle among new villagers. The term arises because such a man is supposed to have bruised his feet by walking barefoot along hot roads and railway tracks with his belongings, looking for a new home. And even when this newcomer finds his new home and marries and settles he is still referred to as the Bluefoot Man. Poems in section 2 reveal problems of identity. There is tension in self-examination. There is outcry. Movement and change lead to painful feelings. Voices of the poets are anguished in a need to find an acceptable and comfortable identity. Here, straightaway.