Journal of West Indian Literature: Critical Approaches to Louise Bennett (Vol. 17, Number 2: Apr. 2009)

About This Research

Dr. Nwankwo guest edits this specific journal, and she also creates a beautiful introduction detailing the life, contributions, and need for more scholarly works on Jamaican poet and folklorist Louise Bennett-Coverley (1919-2006), also known as “Miss Lou.”

The introduction gives credit of this particular issue’s creation to a 2008 conference, “No Lickle Twang,” in which a group, from poets to scholars to community members, honored Miss Lou’s existence and work that for so long connected so many Jamaicans and people of Jamaican descent to their roots. Nwankwo includes her own memories of learning about and performing some of Miss Lou’s works, and she also credits Miss Lou in being a “grounding force” anchoring her back to her homeland as she traveled between Kingston and New Jersey. The introduction briefly, but thoroughly, explains the articles to be mentioned in the Journal of West Indian Literature.