Dingo goes back to poetry roots

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

VERY EARLY in poet Dingo's guest slot at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts on Tuesday night, there were calls of 'blouse and skirt!' from the upper tiers of the amphitheatre at the Arthur Wint Drive, St Andrew, school. Those in the substantial audience had to wait, though, for the poem about a woman named Peaches who had "a blouse and skirt vibe", as Dingo reserved it for the close of his set.

And the poem came all too soon for the members of the audience, who whooped intermittently as his wordplay took them into unexpected but very welcome directions, as they wanted Dingo to return after his approximately 20 minutes of verse supported by Omari and M'Bala on drums and percussions.

It was a matter of going back to poetic roots for Dingo, who first read at the Poetry Society gatherings some 15 years ago.

"I wan' big up some of the old faces," he said, doing so before reminding all of the band that he was once a part of.

"I wan' start off with a little chant. I don't know how many people remember 'Zinc Fence'," he said.

Urging the drummer to go faster, Dingo removed the microphone from its cradle and, moving in an arc at the front of the circular stage area, ensured that he faced different sections of the audience at various points. The lines that provoked thought and laughter started early, Dingo noting that from some persons' perspective "money no nice if everybody rich".

He explored the phenomenon of real estate in 'Land', including the differing definitions of civilisation and squatting from the same practice. "I woulda like know who sell the first piece a land/Da bredda deh skill," Dingo said.

Going back to roots meant having to dig into his memory and before doing 'Jamaica, Land We Love' Dingo said, "This is the longest piece I have to do and I hope I can remember it." And it was a long piece, lines that resonated with the audience, including commissions of enquiry being established "to find the burial spots of former commissions of enquiry", and "our heaviest burden is still our legacy of silent acceptance in Jamaica, land we love".

A memory lapse interrupted the flow of words, but Dingo recovered in short order to finish the poem.

"This is one of the first last pieces I did when I came to Poetry Society. We a do it for old times' sake," Dingo said. The poem started with "I want a woman" and went on to define the desired qualities and characteristics, among them that she does not have to be "on the verge of virginity".

And there were hoots as Dingo declared "if a tree inna har face me wi sit in the shade".

Dingo went into more love poetry with 'My Love is Like Water', after which he commented "me memory a gwaan good, no true?" Closets was about war ("democracy has never come easy/surviving it has become equally difficult").

Before acceding to provide the "blouse and skirt vibe", Dingo spoke about being at an airport and a man asking a woman for her telephone number very loudly. "Me say the confidence of them Jamaican man ya tall," Dingo said, going on to deliver his own lyrics in verse, asking a lady "you no have nutten yu waan get off yu ches', like yu bra?"

And, he told her, "if you no busy likkle more I woulda like you have me son". When he requested "put yu tongue inna ears no and blow me brain?" the audience was blown away.

After a "blouse and skirt vibe" end, there were demands for Dingo to return, but when the night's host, Yashika Graham, enquired, it was really the end.

Members of the audience had also got involved at the close of the open mic session, which preceded the guest poet. When it announced that open mic was finished, Oneil announced that he had come from Portland and wanted to do his poem. He came down to the performance area to negotiate, to no avail, and returned to the upper tiers, disappointed. But he was eventually allowed to do his poem and, after he was finished, he gave the audience a general thumbs up and a grin.

There was audience participation of another kind, as well as members of the audience were asked to write on slips of paper what inspires them to write, the responses read between poets' reading at Tuesday's fellowship.