Senate paid tribute to Poet Laureate, Professor Kwame Dawes

Jamaica’s Upper House of Parliament paid tribute to the island’s Poet Laureate, Professor Kwame Dawes, this Friday.

He was treated to a special reading of selected works at the sitting of the Senate. The Poet Laureate was specially invited by the President of the Senate, Thomas Tavares-Finson, and followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, Lorna Goodison, who visited the Senate in 2017, and Olive Senior, who did so in 2022.

Professor Dawes began his presentation explaining, “poets are the chroniclers of the sentiments of their time,” proceeding to read a selection of pieces that drew on the themes of faith, cultural identity, spirituality and family. He opened with “Acceptance,” a poem written by his late father, Neville Dawes, before reading his own works: “Thelma’s Precious Cargo,” “New Year’s Eve in Addis”, “African Postman”, “Replenishment: A Prayer After Melissa” and “In This Saying.”

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dana Morris Dixon, remarked that the interlude was “a reminder of how important poetry is.” She added, “It is very important that [our children] hear poems; they hear literature that speaks about them and their experience.” 

Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, Donna Scott-Mottley, thanked the President for arranging the interlude, opining, “Parliament needs to have a soft side where they can get in touch with their souls.” 

She noted that the Poet Laureate “had brought not just pleasure but learning. You speak to us in a way that somehow triggers something in our DNA.”

The role of the Poet Laureate includes promoting and encouraging a greater appreciation of Jamaican poetry while fostering a deeper public appreciation for the spoken arts and Jamaica’s rich literary heritage. Professor Dawes is the fourth Poet Laureate of Jamaica since Independence.