Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Nigerian poet Chris Abani performs at the opening night of the eighth staging of the Calabash International Liter-ary Festival held in St Elizabeth on Friday night.The festival ends today. - Photo by Noel Thompson

After Rosemarie Stone had finished her reading from No Stone Unturned, concluding the excerpt from her book about contracting HIV from her now-deceased husband, Carl, with, "amazingly, there is still hope, there is still joy", there was a standing ovation from the full house under the tents at Jakes in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.

And when Calabash founder Colin Channer bounded up the steps that Stone, who had read seated in an armchair, had just been assisted in descending, he put the last reading of yesterday's morning session in wider context.

"It seems this is a Calabash of bearing witness, of Jamaican people talking about things that we have long learned in this little island of ours not to talk about," he said.

'Ladies First'

The 2008 Calabash International Literary Festival had started on Friday evening with Thomas Glave leading off 'Selector's Choice', his latest literary involvement being editor of Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles.

After Stone's reading, Channer also said, "I am heartened that we opened with three people who live and write in Jamaica."

The other two persons in 'Ladies First' were Erna Brodber and Beverley East, the latter reading from Reaper of Souls about the 1957 Kendal train crash in Manchester in which 14 of her relatives died.

Stone reached emotional break-ing point thrice in her reading, the audience encouraging her with applause on the first two occasions, and respectful silence on the third.

And when 'Ladies First' was over and Channer said, "One more time for Erna Brodber, one more time for Beverley East, three more times for Rosie Stone", the large audience gave their cheers in due proportion.

Some people stood for Derek Walcott as he sat in an armchair for the 'Chatterbox', an interview and then a reading, with Kwame Dawes at high noon yesterday.

Walcott expressed his appreciation of novelist and newspaper columnist John Hearne, and said Bob Marley was genuinely a poet who wrote music. But when Dawes asked him about current Jamaican music, and if he would identify Buju Banton, Elephant Man and Bounty Killer, he said: "I know you Jamaicans think every-body keeps up with your music, but this is not necessarily so."

intellectual colonies

There was laughter all around.

They discussed film, Walcott saying it is a natural medium for Caribbean people; his collabo-rations with musicians, including Paul Simon; painting ("I hate abstract expression"); and America's influence.

"We are still dictated to by the Empire. The new American Empire is the new Empire. We are still intellectual colonies of America, as is the rest of the world," he said.