Born September 7, 1919, Louise Bennett-Coverley, ‘Miss Lou’ was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, cultural icon and educator.

Through her poems in Jamaican Patois, she raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to a level acceptable to and appreciated by Jamaicans. She died in July 2006.

Here’s one of her early poems as published in The Sunday Gleaner, June 24, 1945

De Flu

BY LOUISE BENNETT

De flu dah fly all over Tung, It pitch pon cousin Sue! She did fe go a sea but she Kean fly she got de flu!

Tribulation pon de islan! Coolie, chiney, nayga, jew, Store-package an dutty bungle Everybody got de flu!

Smellin-salts an aspirin an Big han-kerchief is de pose, Yuh no eena, tings ef yuh naw Clean yuh t'roat an blow yuh nose!

Frien and fambily dah teck sick,

One be one an two be two, Wen yuh want meck conversation. Caugh an sey, "me ketch de. flu"!

Wen me hear Aunt Fan dah talk bout Putty-nose ole Simeon, An dah cuss him how him hoggish, An gwan wicked to oman,

Wen she sey him teck eggvandige' Wid her sista Mary Lou, When she call dung vengance pon him, Me sey. "lef him to de flu"!

Au baps, rain ketch him toder night, Wid nutten pon him head, A dose a flu voops dung pon him, An floops him eena bed!

"Dog bite hot but dog meck good frien," Yuh kean sey dat no true, De flu meck plenty sick.. but plenty Tenkful to de flu.

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