Senate welcomes Poet Laureate Kwame Dawes, pays tribute to Harding and Francis

KINGSTON — The Senate on Friday, July 17, 2026 suspended its sitting to welcome Poet Laureate of Jamaica Professor Kwame Dawes, CD, then resumed for tributes to former Senate President Professor the Honourable Oswald Harding and track coach the Honourable Vincent Stephen Francis, among others.

Senate President Thomas Tavares-Finson said Dawes, invested in January 2025 for a three-year term, is Jamaica’s fourth Poet Laureate since Independence, following Mervyn Morris (2014–16), Lorna Goodison (2017–20) and Olive Senior (2021–24). Dawes received the Musgrave Silver Medal in 2004 and the Order of Distinction (Commander) in 2022. He teaches literary arts at Brown University, works with the African Poetry Book Fund, and is artistic director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. His recent collections include Mortality and Sturge Town, the latter longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2025.

Dawes outlined his mandate to deepen public engagement with Jamaican poetry and literary history, including a series at the Philip Sherlock Centre honouring major poets. He read work by his father, Neville Dawes, and poems of his own, among them pieces on migration, an Ethiopian assignment for the BBC, and “Replenishment,” written after Hurricane Melissa.

The Minister of Education thanked Dawes and pledged closer work with the Ministry so students encounter literature that reflects Jamaican experience. Senators also placed on record appreciation for Calabash and Justine Henzell.

Members then honoured Harding — former Senate president across three terms, justice minister and attorney-general, longest continuous Senate tenure in Jamaica’s history, and founding dean of the University of Technology’s Faculty of Law — extending condolences to his wife Marigold and sons Jeremy and Zachary. Tributes followed for Francis, co-founder and technical director of the MVP Track Club, credited with guiding athletes including Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce; the Senate noted a celebration of his life set for August 15 at the National Indoor Sports Centre. Passing mentions were made of Sir Garfield Sobers and former MPs Dean Peart and Arthur Nelson.

A message from the House advised that the Mediation Act, 2026 had been passed with amendments. The bill received a first reading in the Senate before adjournment.