Calabash 2016

Calabash literary arts festival held biennially in Calabash Bay, Treasure beach, Jamaica. The festival is staged on the property of the Jake’s Resort, which is owned and managed by the Henzell family. According to their website:

 “The Calabash International Literary Festival was founded in 2001 by three Jamaicans the novelist Colin Channer, the poet Kwame Dawes and the producer Justine Henzell. Their aim was simple—to create a world-class literary festival with roots in Jamaica and branches reaching out into the wider world.

A three-day festival of readings and music with other forms of storytelling folded in the mix, Calabash is earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse. After 10 successive years Calabash is now staged on a biennial basis on even years. All festival events are free and open to the public. Passion is the only price of entry. But voluntary contributions are welcomed.”

The theme for this year’s staging was fruu-ish-aan (fruition).

Authors from all over the world (many of whom are recipients of prestigious literary awards and best-seller distinctions) make the trek to Treasure Beach for the festival. Time after time, these famed authors remark that they have never been to another festival quite like Calabash.

The 2014 staging featured, among others, renowned authors such as the controversial Pulitzer prize winning Salman Rushdie, as well as Zaidie Smith and Jamaica Kincaid. This year’s staging featured authors such as Chris Abani and 2015 Man Booker winner, Jamaica’s own Marlon James.

Getting There

The journey to Treasure Beach from Kingston is usually between 2 ½ -3 hours. However, we, (my mom, sister, aunt and myself), had to make a stop on the way down at Little Ochie in Alligator Pond. Little Ochie, located on the border of Manchester and St. Elizabeth. is one of our absolute favourite seafood restaurants. Great, fresh food at very reasonable prices. This time I had my favourite, the jerk roasted fish. Take my advice, it is amazing. Your tastebuds will thank you for it.

Tip : For jerk roast fish, go with Snapper or Lionfish. Yes Lionfish!

Treasure Beach

When we got to Treasure Beach it was overcast, windy and seemed like it had rained a bit in the afternoon. The weather was a little strange this year. I’ve been visiting Treasure beach for years now and never before have I seen it rain, much less the pseudo- stormy weather on Friday into Saturday.

The Festival

After getting ourselves together at the guesthouse we stayed at, we headed down to the festival ground. The festival’s sessions take on several formats. Usually they feature 2-4 authors (prose, poetry or both) who share their work. They give readings from a section, or several sections of their publications, and often share the inspiration/background context to the piece. There are also sessions that involve in-depth conversations or “reasonings” with featured authors (this year Chris Abani and Robert Crum). On Saturday and Sunday, there are also open mic sessions. Each session is followed by a break where you can chat and meet up with friends, buy refreshments, browse the bookstore and soak up the ambience.

Here is this year’s schedule:

Calabash 2016 Schedule

On Friday night the standouts for me were poet Ilya Kaminsky, who grew up the former Soviet Union, and Chigoze Obioma from Nigeria. Kaminsky’s pieces were framed by his experiences growing up in Odessa during the Soviet era and his delivery of the pieces was very interesting. Obioma read from his Man Booker nominated book, The Fisherman. The section he shared with us was about a character who became mentally ill after a grave accident, who then also seemed to gain the gift of prophecy as a consequence. The narrative was quite captivating and I decided there and then to buy the book. Unfortunately, it seems many other felt the same way I did as the book was sold out when I went to buy it the next day.

After the night’s readings, there was a concert featuring Reggae Revival artistes Protoje and Sevana. We were feeling a little tired and didn’t stick around, but I heard that the show was very good.

Saturday – Day 2

There wasn’t much rain on Saturday, but it was still uncharacteristically overcast.

The standout reading for me that day, was from UK author Decca Aitkenhead . Her partner drowned in Calabash Bay 2 years ago while saving their young son. I’m not sure how she found the strength to come back and share that story. The audience was spellbound during her reading. After such an ordeal, I would be hesitant to visit the country where it happened so soon afterwards, much less the very place. However, I suppose this may have helped to bring her a bit of closure. Geoff Dyer’s reading was also excellent. I will definitely be exploring more of his work.

The quality of the open mic sessions was quite good this year, especially on Saturday. During the open mic session, each performer is given three minutes to present their piece(s). There is even a prize for the winning entry , which is determined by the moderator and the reaction of the audience.

Adjoining Jake’s, is the Jack Sprat Restaurant property (also operated by Jakes). This is where the food and drink is on sale. From corn soup, fried chicken, jerk conch and vegan fare to smoothies and coconut water straight from the nut. There is also access to the beach here if you want to take a quick dip in between sessions (or need somewhere to entertain a restless child). There is also a stretch with vendors with clothing, handmade footwear and accessories and more.

Jack Sprat

There is also a bookstore set up in one of the cottages. Books from the authors presenting are available, as well as books from authors from previous staging. The one criticism I have about the set-up  is that the restroom facilities (especially female), need to be expanded. The existing ones have exceeded the carrying capacity. Time to think of bringing in some portaloos!

Following the conclusion of Saturday night’s sessions, there was a sound clash between two popular radio DJs.

Sunday – Day 3

The standout session for me on Sunday was the “Reasonings” with Chris Abani. The facilitator Paul Holdengraber is a regular at Calabash, and always does an amazing job of drawing the authors into the most interesting conversations.

In order to make it back to Kingston in good time, we left at about 3pm after the afternoon’s open mic session. However, there were sessions going up until 6pm that evening. We quite enjoyed ourselves, as per usual, and will definitely be back for the 2018 staging.

On the way home, we made a detour and headed up to Middle Quarters, known for their specialty pepper(ed) shrimp. There only  proprietor that I buy pepper shrimp from is Billy. Year in, year out,  the same great taste and quality. I can always count on Billy. We had a an early dinner there and bought our shrimp for the road.

Calabash Tips

• Wear loose clothing or at least fabrics that don’t cling, as the weather can be a little humid. Don’t overthink it. The most important thing is to stay cool and comfortable.

• Book early!  I can’t stress this enough. Room stock in Treasure Beach is not very high. I booked towards the end of April and could barely find somewhere to stay. In fact, Treasure Beach was so over-subscribed that there were persons camping for the duration of the festival in the yard of the property I was staying at! They paid a small fee, set up their tents and had access to outdoor showers on the property. Even if under normal circumstances camping is your thing, you may want to avoid this. Book early.

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  Calabash Campers in the front yard