Leaving Traces

Having developed a significant following among her fellow Jamaicans and in the wider Caribbean world, Velma Pollard seamlessly unites the personal and the political in her latest volume of poetry. Organized into three sections, the collection expresses underlying political concerns, such as the impact of global culture, the dangers of unobstructed American power, and the threat of Islamist opposition. The poems move beyond these problems, however, ultimately seeking resolution through understanding the flow of nature and urging a celebration of life.

Velma Pollard teaches at the University of the West Indies–Mona, where she is senior lecturer in language education and the dean of the faculty of education. She is the author of The Best Philosophers I Know Can't Read or Write, Considering Woman, Crown Point and Other Poems, Dread Talk, Shame Trees Don't Grow Here, and Karl, for which she won the Casa de las Americas in 1992. She is a member of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars.