THE CHOICE of the Hon. Louis Bennett-Coverly, known throughout Jamaica and the diaspora as 'Miss Lou', to participate in some of the Emancipation and Independence celebrations as an official guest of the Government, is a most felicitous one.
We are sure she will be greeted with thunderous applause when she appears at the Little Theatre on August 1 as the special guest of the Michael Manley Foundation for the presentation of the Fourth Annual Michael Manley Award for Community Self-Reliance.
Her sojourn in Canada, occasioned by her husband's poor health prior to his death a year ago, has only served to elevate to mythic heights, Miss Lou's reputation as actress, poet and cultural commentator, and testifies once again to the truth of the old adage that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Born in 1919, Miss Lou attended St. Simon's College and Excelsior High School before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England, the first black person to be accepted at that institution on a British Council scholarship. In 1943 it was this newspaper that began publishing a weekly column of her dialect verse and for 12 years she hosted the children's programme, "Ring Ding" on JBC Television. But it was probably her appearances throughout the 1940s, often with Ranny Williams, in the annual pantomimes at the Ward Theatre which brought her to national prominence. She enhanced her career as social commentator when, from 1965 to 1982, she was on Jamaican radio three times a week with a monologue entitled Miss Lou's Views, "Aunty Roachy" being her fictive alter ego.
Not without honour in her own country and abroad, Miss Lou's awards include the Order of Jamaica, the Norman Manley Award for Excellence, a Musgrave Gold Medal and an Honorary D. Litt. from the University of the West Indies. Although there are some who question the value of dialect verse, Miss Lou's work has generally found acceptance by the university and one of her most scholarly supporters has been Mr. Mervyn Morris, retired professor of English at UWI, who in 1993 edited a selection of her '"Aunty Roachy Sey" pieces. Her major collection of verse is Jamaica Labrish, published in 1966.
Behind the humour and charm of a Bennett poem is a didactic balance which provides its moral gravitas. Many of the poems are ethical sermonettes espousing the "golden mean" of moderation in all things. A fervent nationalist, Miss Lou nevertheless cautions against the excesses of tribalism. She is quick to put down cant, class and colour prejudice and concentrates on identifying and celebrating everything that is good in Jamaica folk culture. We wish her a happy stay in the land of her birth.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
