Ralph Thompson Bücher

Ralph Thompson's memoir is a fascinating record of a long and full life lived jointly in the worlds of art, literature and business. From a pre-war childhood in colonial Jamaica, Take My Word For It is full of rich insights into both the personal and Jamaica emerging into difficult modernity.

The poems in Moving On recreate moments of change, loss and epiphany. The long sequence, 'Goodbye Aristotle, So Long America' explores the years of study as a Jesuit university in America and the making both of a lifetime's values and of the sense of irony which has made it possible to live them. The author is a Jamaican who, as well as being a painter and poet, is the Senior Executive of one of his country's biggest companies.

Set against the backdrop of Jamaica's transition from a tranquil rural society to a troubled postcolonial urban landscape, this novel in verse captures both personal and national tragedies. Through meticulously crafted rhyming quatrains, it conveys a sense of prophetic urgency, reflecting on lost romantic ideals and the stark realities of modern life. Winning the 2001 Jamaican National Literary Award, the work resonates with themes of exasperated love and societal change.