New Amsterdamer Ivelaw James aka Brooks has released his second book of poetry titled Poems for Cuffy’s Children, which he hopes will ignite Guyanese of African descent to build on the foundation laid by their ancestors.
According to its foreword, the book was produced to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the 1763 Berbice Uprising led by the enslaved Akan Akomfo from Ghana, Kofi Badu aka “Cuffy” – the first national hero of Guyana, to whom the 1763 monument, sculpted by Berbician Phillip Moore, is dedicated and now stands at D’ Urban Park in Georgetown.
The anthology of poems, written over a period of three decades took some six weeks to arrange and prepare for publication. Inspired by the Berbice Slave Rebellion, the book of poetry explores the conduct of African Guyanese since the uprising and their subsequent freedom from colonial slavery and questions why they appear to be “still battling the demons of the past”.
In an interview with Stabroek News, James shared his view that African Guyanese have drifted into a slumber and are wasting their lives. Cuffy’s children, as he refers to them in his poems, have strayed away from all that their foreparents struggled and fought for – freedom.
“It [was] the vision of Cuffy which came to me, inspiring me to compile the poems,” James said.
He strongly believes that African Guyanese though physically free, are suffering from mental slavery and are making the same mistakes of their ancestors, as he writes in one of the poems, “Cuffy Lives!”
“…Then after a year the freed Africans lost
Through disgust, jealousy, back-biting and sell out
Celebrating events before victory throughout
Dressing in Massa clothes and drinking Massa rum
Parading about the estate not working acting like a bum
They did not realize that after freedom is won
An independent people had to work to destroy Babylon
“…Now 250 years later, the Berbice Uprising continues from the east
In the head, hearts and hands of all true Africans there can be no
Peace
Resist! Rebel! Come out of hell. Only time will tell.
No compromise! No surrender! Never again will we be enslaved!”
“I have been writing poetry since I was a child, but felt it was time to finally release them after taking a close inspection of society today,” James said.
The book of poetry was published by the Conga Nya Heritage Foundation of which James is a former president.
“My message is to wake up a sleeping people. African people gone to sleep…
blaming everybody but them for their troubles. They need to wake up and live! Face the reality of society today.”
He addresses this in another poem, “Jah Watchman”
“…I will not sleep…
“While some living high
And some living low
With nothing to eat
And nowhere to go
Some driving cars
And others living behind bars…
“I will not sleep, no I will not sleep
I am Jah watchman!”
James believes his book, if read, will serve as an inspiration. “We need to keep the fire blazing so the next generation knows what we’ve come through to be here as a free nation and why we must never be enslaved again,” he said.
