Book Review: Leonie: Her Autobiography

Published in The Sunday Gleaner on September 16, 2012:

Title: Leonie: Her Autobiography
Author: Leonie Forbes, as told to Mervyn Morris
Publisher: LMH Publishing Limited

"When you suffer emotional trauma you take the energy from the pain and the loss and the confusion or whatever it is, and turn it right around."

For Leonie Forbes, this maxim applies not just to her performances on stage, but also to the way she lives each day. Interesting, fascinating, riveting doesn't even begin to describe the account of her life. Steeped in humour and poignant anecdotes, this book exudes a myriad of emotions – it will have you smiling, laughing, and, very frequently, stopping to sit and ponder.

It is always a pleasure to see veterans in any field take the time to share from their vast reserve of knowledge and experience for the benefit of their peers and upcoming generations. For the world of Jamaican and Caribbean theatre, Leonie has bequeathed, through her autobiography, wisdom for posterity and a unique voice that gives life and colour to an important period in Jamaican drama.

RICH TONE

Fittingly released in the year of Jamaica's 50th anniversary of Independence, the book provides invaluable historical insight into Jamaica's rich theatrical heritage from the first-person perspective of one of the nation's most beloved personalities. Leonie: Her autobiography is an exceptional literary treasure which will captivate the hearts and imaginations of its readers.

Dedicated to Alma Mock Yen, Muriel Amiel and Leonie's children, the autobiography is written in refreshingly honest and vividly straightforward prose. Interestingly, the English is sometimes broken into what can be termed a 'mild dialect'. However, the transition is so smooth that it creates a conversational feel. You can almost hear Leonie speaking directly to you in that rich, reflective tone that carries wonderfully throughout the book.

She tells of living on Princess Street  with 'Aunt G' (her mother's sister), who played the role of guardian not only to Leonie, but also to many unfortunate children roundabout her. She speaks about early indicators of her theatrical ability – a very entertaining and ironic twist to an attempt at mimicry, and her enjoyment whenever she watched the performing arts – and of a passionate crush on a Senior School teacher.

From its genesis, her worklife has been intricately interwoven with some of the most well-known moments and personalities in Jamaican media and theatre. She was typist for Philip Sherlock, and throughout the expanse of her career, had encounters with the likes of Louise Bennett, Trevor Rhone, Charles Hyatt, Ranny Williams, and Easton Lee. Readers will appreciate Leonie's chronicling of her time at the Radio Education Unit and Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation as instructive and informative, especially since these chapters are seasoned with humorous anecdotes and, in many places, the nostalgia is palpable.

Leonie's experience with and opinion on theatre training will also prove valuable for anyone who has worked in or desires to work in that field. She gives a first-hand account of the thrills and challenges of the profession, detailing her exposure to a variety of roles.

"I think my most successful roles have been Miss Aggy in Old Story Time, Mother of Judas in Easton Lee's The Rope and The Cross and Ojuola in Rotimi's The Gods Are Not To Blame," Leonie says. She devotes an entire chapter to a detailed description of the effort that went into her work as Miss Aggy, and her near-total immersion into the part. As she states in a later chapter, "A  lot of times my skill was not in making the moment believable but in not getting carried away by it I mean, being able to stop, cut it off."

And this 'stopping' and 'cutting off' of the character when the play is done is an important element of acting. Leonie makes it clear that there are roles which an actor can so strongly internalise that he/she never emerges from the stage as his/her own self. She shares some of the moments when she wasn't sure she could make it through a character representation, along with some of her lighter, not-so-pleasant moments in theatre. For example, the time when "Mas Ran as Petruchio got carried away and gave me the box of my life – I thought my jaw was dislocated. But the show went well".

Leonie gives readers insight into another side of her – encounters with what she terms "the paranormal". She touches on her strong intuition, which she has had from an early age, and how this has helped her over the years. She tells of her love life – the three marriages she has been through, and her relationship with her children, her biological mother, religion, and good friends. She pauses to express gratitude to the many persons who have invested in her over the years, including those she met in her travels to different countries, from England to Australia, Ireland, Germany, India and Trinidad.

There are pictures of Leonie at different stages of her life interspersed throughout the book, giving a strong visual representation of the different periods and plays she describes. Her passion for her family and work can be strongly heard and felt as well, and the wisdom she has gained over the years is undeniable. After imparting to the reader these gems from her life, she ends:

"God is good. I give thanks for family and friends, and the many people with whom I have collaborated in theatre, broadcasting and other endeavours. I am glad to have been allowed a rewarding range of roles. I have learnt from every aspect of my life."

And the reader can't help but feel a sense of gratitude, too, for her life, her story, her voice, and her legacy.

Book Review: The Penniless Millionaire

Published in The Sunday Gleaner on September 2, 2012

Title: The Penniless Millionaire
Author: Dorothy Martell
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation


Our life experiences are important in shaping our characters and creating our destinies. In her book, The Penniless Millionaire, Dorothy Martell shares the unique encounters of what she terms her “peculiar but beautiful life”, using her testimony as a platform to encourage readers to persevere despite their struggles, and to trust in God’s unending faithfulness.

From the book’s beginning, she introduces readers to the roller-coaster that is her life. She tells of the many different instances when God gave her, and persons close to her, visions and dreams about his purpose for her, explaining that while she is now able to make sense of her “exciting and sometimes inexplicable journey of God’s amazing grace”, it wasn’t always clear what He was up to.

Martell shares about being pregnant at 15, and struggling to avoid the chasm of shame and guilt that wanted to swallow her up. She talks about her experience with migration, and how God used her time abroad as a testing ground to build her trust in Him and mature her faith.

She also shares about a topic that many people today can relate to: money trouble. Again, it was her willingness to obey God, even when he told her to give away her most valuable material possessions, that enabled her to overcome and find resolution for her financial problems.

Martell introduces her readers to a life fraught with struggle. She has had to deal with a sister with an autistic child, the deaths of her elder brother and father in quick succession, attempted robberies, threats, persecution … she knows what it is like to grapple with failure, grief, disappointment and an unclear sense of purpose. Throughout the book, however, one point remains absolutely clear: Martell is firmly convinced that it was God who helped her to overcome.

The book is sprinkled with humorous anecdotes, which compensate for sometimes unengaging writing and an otherwise casual narrative. While the story is not told with a very structured timeline, Martell’s purpose for writing this book remains definite: to encourage readers to believe in the power of a God who has amazingly transformed her life and allowed her to become the ‘penniless millionaire’.

Go For Gold 4

MELAINE WALKER
Claim to fame:
World and Olympic women’s 400m hurdles gold medallist
Olympic women’s 400m hurdles record holder
Second fastest time in history in the women’s 400m hurdles

Jamaica's renown 400m hurdler, who has won Olympic gold in the event, is beloved and admired by many all over the world. Her event is one which teaches a phenomenal message of perseverance and literally jumping over obstacles – a message that sooner or later every winner becomes well acquainted with.

Persistence
This means that you don’t quit, you don’t stop, you always keep moving ahead. You know what they say: winners never quit and quitters never win. Melaine’s event requires jumping over hurdles. This is a lesson in persistence. In life, you will face challenges - big, scary ones. The thing to do is to keep your composure (as Melaine does), and never give up. As you see difficulties come at you on your journey to success, remember Melaine, run to face that challenge, and then jump over it and move on to success!

Go For Gold 3

MAURICE SMITH
Claim to fame:
2007 Pan Am Games men’s decathlon gold medallist
2007 Osaka World Championships men’s decathlon silver medallist
First Jamaican to win a medal in the men’s decathlon at a world championship
Jamaica team captain - 2008 Beijing Olympics

Maybe not very many Jamaicans know about one of the nation's finest decathletes, but  Maurice Smith made history when he won the country’s first medal in the decathlon at a World Championship. He was also selected as captain of Jamaica's Olympic team at the 2008 meet. This means that he displays some key qualities that make him stand out to our athletics organisers.

Leadership
It is always a plus if you display the ability to motivate, encourage, and inspire others to achieve and be their best. Maurice is very good at this, and that is why he is so often selected to be leader of the nation's athletics groups. Smith has not only stood out in his event at different international meets, but also takes the time to encourage others to pursue gold as well. This is one of the hallmarks of a winning attitude.

Teamwork
Working together with other people is another important quality that all successful athletes must possess. They meet a variety of people every day - trainers, coaches, journalists, sponsors - and they have to learn to work well with them all if they want to have exemplary careers. It is very true that no man is an island, and our athletes - and winners - understand that a good relationship with everyone is an essential part of success. Maurice Smith, as team captain, certainly displays that!

Versatility
The decathlon comprises 10 different events: 100m, 400m, 100m hurdles, 1500m, long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, high jump and shot put. The athlete has to do well in all of these events to get enough points to place in the top three and win a medal. Maurice, therefore, cannot  just focus on one event and neglect the others, and then expect to win a medal. He has to try to be good at as many events out of the ten as possible to increase his winning chances.

Success in any field is no different. There are usually sub-parts that make up the area a person wants to do well in. Excellence in this area will only come after you work on being good in each sub-part. So, for example, if you want to be a good writer, you have to work on your grammar, punctuation, clarity in getting points across, and using different parts of speech in your story. When you master all of these, you will be an excellent writer.

Go For Gold 2

VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN
Claim to fame:
Second woman in history to win the Olympic women’s 200m gold back to back
Five-time Olympic medallist
Nine-time World Championship medallist
100 yard world record holder
First female athlete to be named UNESCO Champion for Sport goodwill ambassador

Veronica Campbell-Brown has been involved in athletics for a very long time, and has a reputation for always giving her best and creating history in almost every race she has participated in. We can look at her consistent performance as a result of much discipline and training.

Discipline
This means developing and sticking with habits that help you to achieve your goal, even when you don't feel like it and even when it gets hard. For Veronica, this means regular training and practice. She has to practice her race start, turning corners for the 200m, do various exercises, and eat healthy. I'm sure she doesn't always feel like eating vegetables instead of fast food, but discipline is about making the decisions that will benefit you in the long run, and sometimes that means refusing to do what will gratify you now.

Confidence
If there's one thing you can say about VCB, she always looks calm before and after her races. In fact, you hardly see her getting agitated or displaying nervousness and fear. This is the result of confidence, which is that quality in winners that makes them sure that they have what it takes to win.

Usain is another example of confidence. He's so calm, he can even play around with the cameras before races. Confidence is the result of hard work and training. If you've practiced and properly prepared, you  can feel confident that you will give nothing less than your best on your big day.

Go for Gold

The Secret to Going for Gold

Athletics has always been one of Jamaica's favorite sports. We've all admired the strength and agility of the nation's top sprinters, who have earned the respect of the entire world, and have placed Jamaica's name more firmly on the map as a country of outstanding achievers.

But have you ever stopped to think about how our athletes manage to excel like that? What is it about them that makes them so very successful? Were they born more special than me and you? Is it, as some people say, the Trelawny yam that makes Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown so fast?

Or could it be that they have learnt and applied fundamental principles to their lives that guarantee this success? And could it be that if you or I were also to learn and apply these principles to our own lives, we would be rewarded with equal success?

Let's take a look at the lives of some of these athletes and see what we can learn from them.

USAIN BOLT
Claim to fame:
Three- time world and Olympic gold medalist
World and Olympic 100m record holder
World and Olympic 200m record holder
First athlete to hold both sprint world records at the same time

Far beyond his conquest on the field, it is important to look at how Usain prepares himself mentally for each challenge on the track.

Self- belief
This is a person's sense of confidence in their own ability to do what it takes to win. You have to believe you can achieve the goal you have set out to conquer, in order to do so. And I'm sure that Usain has made believers out of all of us. He has, through his remarkable athletic achievements, convinced the world of something that HE first believed - that he could break the world record in the men's 100 and 200m, and that he is one of, if not the best athlete the world has ever seen. The important point is this: Usain had to believe in himself before he could convince anybody else of his talent.

Determination
This is the quality in a person that allows them to push for the accomplishment of a goal, even when the odds are against them. Determination is often used with another word: drive, which describes an individual's deep desire to see something happen, and their constant pursuit of that goal. Usain is a clear picture of this. In his races, you always see, from his facial expression to the way he exerts his strength, that he is pushing for gold and nothing less, and it usually results in success.

Relaxation
Hard work is necessary for success, but so is a little rest and relaxation. Great athletes know that they have to balance work and play order to remain healthy. Relaxation helps to calm the nerves and release stress and tension. Usain  is a good example of this. He can be very playful and fun, even though, when it's time to perform on the track, he settles down, focuses and gets the job done. This is because Usain understands that ll work and no play will make Jack a very dull boy.

Who WIll Save Our Youth

A repost from my first blog:

My favourite spot on campus is a spreading tree somewhere near the center of the University's Chapel Gardens. The Chapel Gardens is an amazingly beautiful and serene respite from the hustle and bustle of general university life. Frankly, I've fallen in love with the place. I go there to relax, to read, to study, to practise speeches and presentations for classes, to sleep (yes, it is relatively safe there, and sleeping in the blazing sun gives me a good feeling, like I'm charged with Vitamin D!! lol), or just to sit and think.

Today I went there to sit and think, because I'd been running from one class to another, and I felt exhausted, and there were things weighing on my mind that needed to be properly thought out. Interestingly enough, I got a whole lot more to think about than I bargained for.

A young man stopped me. He looked around my age or maybe a little older (early 20s). He was wearing a faded t-shirt and jeans (the proverbial university attire) and he walked up to me with his long arms swinging listlessly at his side.

He told me that he was going to kill himself today. The rope was set and everything. He was going to kill himself, he said, because he was tired of "hard life." He said he had been living in a car for three weeks because his landlord had kicked him out of his house since he was unable to pay his rent. He told me how the rains (we have been getting a lot of rain lately) had soaked him and he couldn't sleep properly at nights. He was broke, busted and very disgusted with life. He wanted out.

I stood there wondering at first why he chose to tell me his very sad tale of woe and dejection. I wondered if he was trying to con me into giving him money. I stood there looking at him, and listening, and wondering if what he was saying was true, and if I should believe any of it at all. He assumed I was a Christian and asked me to pray for him. He told me again and again that I had no idea what it was like, that I had no idea what he was going through, that I didn't understand and that he was just really tired, and he didn't see any point in living anymore.

I stood there listening to his story for longer than I intended to. I think what got me was the way he just looked and sounded extremely sad. You know how sometimes you can look at people and see sadness in everything about them? In the downturned mouth corner; the chapped, dry lips; the dirty clothes and fingernails; the tattered shoes, and even the way they have a tendency to sling one elbow over the head and and use the other arm to hold it up, like the arms are supporting the head-weight while the head is supporting the arms? He looked like that. Everything about him just said sad. And his voice cracked while he spoke and there were tears in his eyes. I think I believed him.

I asked him his name. And he told me a name. I'm not sure if the name he gave me was his real name. Let's call him Phillip.

Phillip was unemployed. Both his parents were dead, he said, and he didn't get along very well with the other members of his family. He said he lived in one of the communities surrounding UWI, that he used to be a gun-slinger, one of the "bad men" in his area. He said he decided to give all of that up because he realised that it was wrong, but now, since things were so hard, he was thinking about going back... or just killing himself...

Maybe I'm just young and impressionable. Maybe I'm still a bit naive. But it bothers me. I can't shake this experience from my mind. What if it was true? What if he was really so disenchanted with life that he had decided to end it?

He said I didn't understand. And he was right. I don't understand. I don't understand what forces cause a society to become so despondent that people see no solution at all anywhere in sight and just decide to take someone else's life or give up their own?

Phillip's story reminded me of the man in Ayi Kwei Armah's The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born. I mean, people are only human. They do the best they can with what little they have and sometimes that just isn't enough. What then? "What do you do when you've done all you can and it seems like you can't make it through?" asked Donnie McClurkin. Phillip was asking the same thing. What was I supposed to tell him? I didn't know what he was going through. He was obviously frustrated, to the point where he preferred to die than live anymore. He wanted some money to pay his rent, and to live a fairly decent life, and really, is that too much for anyone to ask?

Jamaica is a beautiful country. There are so many things right with our country. And so many things wrong. Sometimes we get unfairly stereotyped by foreign media. They make it sound like just the thought of coming to Jamaica is dangerous, like as soon as you step off the plane and onto Jamaican soil, you will have bullets whizzing past your ears and have to pull a Hilary Clinton (run for cover).

Sunday, April 6
It's ironic that Amnesty International recently released thier International Report for 2007, and that, Jamaica, once again, is being chided for some downfall in its justice system. This time it's the violence that the Amnesty Report claims Jamaican Government allows to go unchecked. To quote one of their website's news reports, "Jamaican authorities are wilfully neglecting the poorest communities by failing to tackle the violence - and its causes - that is shattering inner cities."

Monday, April 28
The report says we have a public security crisis in Jamaica. I only just had a debate with a friend of mine over the use of this word crisis, and what she believes is an oversensationalised, hyped-up media that tends to be very "unbalanced and alarmist" (direct quote from her).

Now I won't even bother to get into that right now, but, I urge every Jamaican to get hold of a copy of that report, and read it for yourself. See what it says. And make a decision about it. There have been some articles in our newspapers over the title of the report alone. Because, in my, and their, humble opinion, it says a whole damn lot: "Let them kill each other: Public Security in Jamaica’s Inner Cities."

Let them kill each other? Now, in the case of the young man I mentioned earlier, that isn't even necessary, is it? The way things were going for him, he was willing to kill himself... It's something to think about, isn't it?