"Jamaicans living abroad have never forgotten their roots as is manifested in the numerous charitable initiatives undertaken each year, the consistent promotion of Jamaica in every sphere of activity, the increase flow of remittances and contribution to nation building and the overwhelming support given by Jamaicans to Jamaica's teams wherever they perform abroad. No one can read this book and not realize the inspiration it carries as it defines the attitude and the strength of the Jamaican people. We are grateful to Dr. Bryan for this well-documented study." The Most Honorable Sir Howard Cooke, ON, GCMG, GCVO, CD Governor General of Jamaica (1991-2006). "In the main the immigrants from Jamaica, while yearning to fulfill their hopes for a better life through gainful employment and the honing of their skills, seek to preserve and promote their cultural identity. They often maintain a nostalgic desire to eventually return home, but their decision will be based on the prospects for jobs, adequate remuneration, acceptable working conditions and a feeling of personal security." Bryan's treatise offers a discerning insight of the Diaspora and compelling personal stories of the journey travelled by Jamaicans in the United States. The story he tells is vital to a fuller understanding of our history. It is informative, interesting and thought-provoking. The Most Hon. P.J. Patterson, ON, OCC, PC, QC Prime Minister of Jamaica 1992-2006

From Miss Lou to Bob Marley and Usain Bolt to Kamala Harris, Jamaica has had an outsized reach in global mainstream culture. Yet many of its most important historical, cultural, and political events and aspects are largely unknown beyond the island. The Jamaica Reader presents a panoramic history of the country, from its precontact indigenous origins to the present. Combining more than one hundred classic and lesser-known texts that include journalism, lyrics, memoir, and poetry, the Reader showcases myriad voices from over the centuries: the earliest published black writer in the English-speaking world; contemporary dancehall artists; Marcus Garvey; and anonymous migrant workers. It illuminates the complexities of Jamaica's past, addressing topics such as resistance to slavery, the modern tourist industry, the realities of urban life, and the struggle to find a national identity following independence in 1962. Throughout, it sketches how its residents and visitors have experienced and shaped its place in the world. Providing an unparalleled look at Jamaica's history, culture, and politics, this volume is an ideal companion for anyone interested in learning about this magnetic and dynamic nation.

A tale inspired by the 1976 attempted assassination of Bob Marley spans decades and continents to explore the experiences of journalists, drug dealers, killers, and ghosts against a backdrop of social and political turmoil.

A little girl finds a stuffed dog in the park and decides to take it home.

A history of the Jamaican people from an Afro-Caribbean rather than a European perspective. Africa is at the centre of the story; for by claiming Africa as homeland, Jamaicans gain a sense of historical continuity, of identity, and of roots.

“In these kaleidoscopic stories of Jamaica and its diaspora we hear many voices at once. All of them convince and sing. All of them shine.”—Zadie Smith An O: The Oprah Magazine “Top 15 Best of the Year” • A Well-Read Black Girl Pick Tenderness and cruelty, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and regret—Alexia Arthurs navigates these tensions to extraordinary effect in her debut collection about Jamaican immigrants and their families back home. Sweeping from close-knit island communities to the streets of New York City and midwestern university towns, these eleven stories form a portrait of a nation, a people, and a way of life. In “Light-Skinned Girls and Kelly Rowlands,” an NYU student befriends a fellow Jamaican whose privileged West Coast upbringing has blinded her to the hard realities of race. In “Mash Up Love,” a twin’s chance sighting of his estranged brother—the prodigal son of the family—stirs up unresolved feelings of resentment. In “Bad Behavior,” a couple leave their wild teenage daughter with her grandmother in Jamaica, hoping the old ways will straighten her out. In “Mermaid River,” a Jamaican teenage boy is reunited with his mother in New York after eight years apart. In “The Ghost of Jia Yi,” a recently murdered student haunts a despairing Jamaican athlete recruited to an Iowa college. And in “Shirley from a Small Place,” a world-famous pop star retreats to her mother’s big new house in Jamaica, which still holds the power to restore something vital. Alexia Arthurs emerges in this vibrant, lyrical, intimate collection as one of fiction’s most dynamic and essential authors. Praise for How to Love a Jamaican “A sublime short-story collection from newcomer Alexia Arthurs that explores, through various characters, a specific strand of the immigrant experience.”—Entertainment Weekly “With its singular mix of psychological precision and sun-kissed lyricism, this dazzling debut marks the emergence of a knockout new voice.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Gorgeous, tender, heartbreaking stories . . . Arthurs is a witty, perceptive, and generous writer, and this is a book that will last.”—Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties “Vivid and exciting . . . every story rings beautifully true.”—Marie Claire