20 years of Poetry in Motion

The organisers of the annual poetry festival, Poetry in Motion (PiM), are gearing up to host another staging on Sunday, February 26, as it celebrates 20 years under the theme ‘Every song is a poem set to music’.

Yasus Afari, founder and principal organiser, said, “Now in its 20th year, we reflect on the journey while delivering on the highest standards of edutainment to empower and inspire with a renewal of clean, intelligent fun for the entire family.”

Once again, the festival will be anchored at the Manchester Golf Club in Manchester and will feature some of the best in music, dance, comedy, storytelling, fashion, and poetry. Poetry in Motion has five main segments - The Reasoning Temple, African Bazaar, Dinner for Charity, Red Carpet Affair and Showtime - that feature local spoken word artistes such as Mutabaruka, Dr Michael Abrahams, Dr Ann-Marie Wilmot, and Mark Stephenson, among others. International guest performers Aldith Hunkar from The Netherlands and El Jones from Canada are also on the roster.

Veteran musician Boris Gardiner is one of the headliners, and there is also a promise of a special guest artiste to add to the musical poetry presentation.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport-sponsored festival is being staged with the patronage of Georgia Allen, the wife of the former custos of Mandeville, Dr Gilbert Allen.

Proclaiming it as one of the first events to celebrate Black History Month in Jamaica, Yasus Afari said that over the past two decades, the expectations of patrons has helped to shape the platform “as we continue to nurture homegrown talent and the artistic ‘poetree’ of life and able to give continued support to charity”.

The PiM Dinner for Charity has several beneficiaries this year, including the Manchester Infirmary, the Hanbury Home for Children, and Friends in Need.

“PiM celebrates and exemplifies cultural entrepreneurship, social and community responsibility by investing in the cultural arts, supporting worthy charities, starting on time, and presenting the charity cheque on stage at each staging from the very inception,” the founder said.