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Journey To Enlightenment: Revealed
by Juliet Christie Murray
109 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1451; ISBN 1-4120-3623-2; US$13.04, C$15.00, EUR10.71, £7.50
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About the Book
This is a book of poems that covers a wide number of topics. The title of the book is named off one of the poems a scenario of likening literacy to the dark passages of a ship packed with slaves. This book covers a number of social issues both in the U.S.A and in the West Indies in which the Author resides.
At present there is an increase in crimes in Jamaica since the return of criminals from abroad. (Deportees) The poems Great Big U.S.A. and Train The Child seek to address that issue. For Jamaicans who have had Prime Ministers who were in most parts fair skinned sought for a change by making colour an issue in order to obtain majority votes in a fairly recent general election. The poem 'No Easy Choice', addresses issues and the social spin off, arising from globalization.
The author seeks to promote good values and attitudes as in the piece Children of The King. Journey To Enlightenment provides good reading since it contains some humor too. The underlying theme of this book is one that gives encouragement to individuals who are feeling despondent and pessimistic about issues of life, it seeks to find an answer through poetry.
As said before it covers a wide range of topics, love spirituality, social issues, and nature; a good book to be added to a collection to be used in schools for choral speaking and literature. The best part of this book is, the poems are easily understood, relevant and recent. Attached to many of the pieces are the circumstances and situations that gave the inspiration to the author for writing the piece. Most teachers who saw the unpublished copy requested a copy. Two pieces from the book were used to enter the Jamaica Festival of arts speech competition for schools, 2004 in Hanover.
Reviews
Journey to Enlightenment: Revealed maps the territory between the individual's desire to improve and the limitations imposed by relative poverty and outside authority. The crafted free verse is largely unrhymed, covering themes from classroom achievement to identity politics. The title piece compares the condition of illiteracy to the confinement of a slave ship's hold. The poet praises an uncle who raised her, and earnestly pulls for the children whose futures she bolsters as a vice principal and teacher in Hanover Parish, Jamaica. Murray's degrees in Sociology and Applied Social Relations were earned in the United States. Her observations of community structure made while abroad focus on the particular, such as the lack of dogs in the Brooklyn streets, or the ubiquity of cameras there.
The most personal pieces are driven by unresolved background tension between integrity and unrequited or impossible attraction, a dilemma which proves too troublesome to haul fully into daylight for this edition. The net perspective however is assuredly more forward-facing than wistful. The poet holds hope for greater opportunities for Jamaicans at home and in expatriate enclaves, and also expects a calm but usefully engaged life-stage ahead for herself, backstopped by the promise of spiritual salvation, the subject of "The Better Part":
After the business is over
The children all grown and gone
The wealth we have all stockpiled,
The lovers we have kept or left,
What next?"
Quite instructive is a side by side comparison of "No Easy Choice," first in Jamaican dialect, then in standard English. Lines from "Jamaican Man" demonstrate that the differences amount to a superficial barrier: "Jamaican man dem a di best / Dem seh dem strong and / Hav whole heap a stamina." A glossary clears up the few potential misunderstandings, though precious little is left to wrongly interpret. Teacherly explanations of each poem's inspiration and intent intrude on readers who are accustomed to filtering poetry through prisms of their own experiences.
Journey to Enlightenment: Revealed closes with an uplifting poem called "The Revelation" which invites the audience to action: "Get up harness that universal spirit, / Buried everywhere, and in every one." This offering has verve and a sense of patience. It's a respectable, readable first collection from someone who came to the form in the middle of life, blessed with a considerable head start in compassion for strivers, thwarted, and successful ones alike.
Clarion Book Reviews
About the Author
Juliet Christie Murray was born in 1950 in the Parish of Hanover on the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica. She is a graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University U.S.A., where she obtained a Bachelors degree in Sociology and Applied Social Relations
She also holds a diploma from the College of Art Science and Technology in Technical Education - Home Economics and holds a certificate from the Ministry of Education in Primary Education, Jamaica. At present she is the Vice Principal of Sandy Bay Primary School, Hanover, Jamaica.
She started writing poetry June 2002. She has done live presentation on World Poetry day Festival at Levity 2004 and live reading at Calabash an International literary festival for 2004 Jamaica. She recorded one live presentation on "Lyrical Speaking" a CPTC television program for the exposure of poets and poetry hosted by Mutabaruka in Jamaica.
She is married with two sons. Her hobbies are sewing, reading, writing, cake decorating and interior decorating.
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