Review: Johnson Waxes Lyrical with Dub; Martin Longley Talks to Jamaican Legend Linton Kwesi Johnson about Poetry and Reggae

Longley, Martin, The Birmingham Post (England)

As part of the ongoing Writers At Warwick season, Jamaican poet Linton Kwesi Johnson will be giving a reading early on Tuesday evening.

He's has been an associate fellow of the university since1985: "I haven't done an awful lot of things for them, so this is a golden opportunity," he says.

Johnson will be reading a mixture of old poems and new material taken from last year's More Time album. It's a benefit performance, with proceeds being collected for Caribbean hurricane victims.

The album includes a track called Hurricane Blues, but its subject matter is more abstract than the title implies, dealing with "love and loss" in a general sense. The title track itself is a call for rebellion against society's current workaholic frenzy . "It's a bit more introspective," says Johnson. "It's a sign that I'm getting older! It's not a conscious change of direction, it's just where I'm at now."

While some of More …

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Publication information: Article title: Review: Johnson Waxes Lyrical with Dub; Martin Longley Talks to Jamaican Legend Linton Kwesi Johnson about Poetry and Reggae. Contributors: Longley, Martin - Author. Newspaper title: The Birmingham Post (England). Publication date: January 18, 1999. Page number: 13. © 2009 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. COPYRIGHT 1999 Gale Group.

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