Cultural icon Louise Bennett-Coverly dies at 86

[Mekeda7]

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...__MISS_LOU.asp

Walk good, Miss Lou
Cultural icon Louise Bennett-Coverly dies at 86
Observer Reporter
Thursday, July 27, 2006

BELOVED Jamaican cultural icon Louise Simone
Bennett-Coverly, affectionately called 'Miss Lou',
died yesterday at the Scarborough Grace Hospital in
Toronto, Canada at age 86, triggering a flood of
tributes from the political and artistic communities,
all of which recognised her pioneering role in
promoting Jamaican folklore worldwide.

"She believed passionately in her country and in her
work as an artist," Prime Minister Portia Simpson
Miller said, adding that Miss Lou never failed to
promote confidence in the extraordinary abilities,
skills and talents of the Jamaican people.

Simpson Miller said Miss Lou was her role model and
mentor, and described her as "A true example of the
finest quality of Jamaican womanhood. a strong,
courageous defender of the true Jamaican culture".

Miss Lou, the prime minister said, was regarded as a
part of the national landscape and a true
representative of Jamaican hospitality, graciousness
and charm.

Miss Lou, Jamaica's premier folklorist, poet,
entertainer and comedienne was born in Kingston on
September 7, 1919. Famous for her radio shows, which
included Laugh with Louise, Miss Lou's Views and The
Lou and Ranny Show, she was also celebrated for her
television show Ring Ding, which was popular among
Jamaican children all across the island in the 1970s.

The woman, who more than anyone else popularised the
Jamaican good-bye wish "Walk good", also performed
leading humorous roles in several Jamaican pantomimes
and travelled across the world lecturing and
performing Jamaican folklore.

In August 2003, she was honoured by the government for
her indelible contribution to Jamaica's cultural
history, at the Emancipation and Independence
celebrations.

Former Prime Minister P J Patterson told the Observer
that all Jamaica was extremely saddened by the news of
the passing of the great cultural icon.

He said in due time Miss Lou became the first lady of
Jamaican comedy as well as of national theatre.

"Miss Lou was more than an innovator who gave status
to the Jamaican language and who established a genre
of poetry which reflected the indigenous genius of our
people," Patterson said.

Miss Lou, Patterson added, in the generosity of her
sharing and in her own deep love of people,
particularly her fellow Jamaicans, became a symbol of
national pride and national unity.

Another former prime minister, Edward Seaga, said
Jamaica has lost one of its greatest icons, and one of
the greatest brand names ranking with every other
star, product or person.

He said that virtually single-handedly Miss Lou
transformed folk culture from its remote existence to
one which involved the entire nation in song and
laughter.

"In so doing, she uplifted the disdained Jamaica
"patois" from the backyard to the stage, at home and
abroad," Seaga said in a statement.

Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, Opposition member of
Parliament, said although Miss Lou had been living in
Canada for over a decade, it seemed that she never
left Jamaica.

"When she visited us it was the same voice that over
the decades captured the joy, sorrows and spontaneity
of the Jamaican people through her poetry and comedy,"
Grange said.

The Jamaica Teachers' Association also expressed
regret at the passing of Miss Lou, whom the teacher's
union described as the "Jamaican icon who legitimised
the vernacular as an acceptable artistic mode of
expression".

Said the JTA: "Her role in the development of the
Jamaican pantomime, her numerous writings in all forms
and her infectious personality always served to
represent the most authentic part of Jamaicans."

Sentiments were the same from people who worked with
Miss Lou in the theatre.

Broadcaster and actress Fae Ellington said Miss Lou
not only helped to define Jamaica's identity but her
own, making an indelible impression on her as a young
actress.

Ellington said her earliest encounter with Miss Lou
dated back to the 1970s when she performed alongside
her in the pantomime Music Boy.

She said there was a premonition that something was
awry when Miss Lou asked actress Leonie Forbes a few
weeks ago to take a picture of her mother's grave and
take it back to Canada for her.

"Those of us who are connected with our forebearers
and ancestors we understand certain things, we
recognised that something was amiss and I remember
Leonie saying to me 'I don't like this'," Ellington
told the Observer yesterday after the newspaper broke
the news of Miss Lou's death to her.

She said they went to the Catholic church in Gordon
Town where Miss Lou's mother was buried and took the
pictures and sent them to her.

"Leonie brought them back and that is the last and
least I could have done for this wonderful lady,"
Ellington said.
Professor Rex Nettleford, meanwhile, said Miss Lou was
a great loss and would be missed very much.

"Miss Lou is arguably the only person who could enter
a jam-pack stadium and get more applause than any
public leader in Jamaica. she really grew into the
heart of the people of Jamaica and deservedly so,"
Nettleford said.

He suggested that a section should be earmarked in the
festival celebrations each year for poems in Jamaican
talk, which would greatly represent Louise Bennett.

"She is greatly respected in the academic circles both
here and abroad so don't worry, her work will live,"
added Nettleford.

Michael Nicholson, event specialist at the Jamaica
Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), was taken
aback when the Observer broke the news of Miss Lou's
death to him. "I am in a terrible state of shock," he
said before regaining composure.

He said his desk was adorned with Miss Lou's pictures
as she was his mentor.

"She was so bubbly, effervescent and just full of so
much life and just so much knowledge," Nicholson said.

He said his first personal encounter with Miss Lou
dated back to 1995 when she came backstage at the
production Schoolers to personally commend him on his
performance.
He said Miss Lou's work will always live on as her
work has continued to influence Jamaica's theatre.

Each year, the JCDC celebrates Miss Lou Day on her
birthday. "Now I know it will take on a greater
significance as a result of her passing," Nicholson
said.

Musician Marjorie Whylie, who also shared the stage
with Miss Lou in the production Ring Ding, said she
was in terrible shock at her passing.

She, however, took comfort in the fact that Miss Lou
was honoured by the government during her official
visit to Jamaica in 2003.

".So she could see in how much esteem and love she was
held by people at all levels of society," Whylie said.
Miss Lou, added Whylie, had done much to promote an
understanding of the Jamaican identity.

"I remember as a child that many people of the
middle-class did not appreciate, did not quite
understand what it was she was doing, but she was
bringing a measure of respect to our culture and what
we are enjoying today is as a result of her earlier
effort," said Whylie.

Whylie recommended that a foundation be established in
Miss Lou's name that would encourage collection,
documentation, analysis and publication of elements of
our culture, in particular that which was her forte.

Miss Lou received many accolades and awards during her
lifetime, including the Order of Merit in 2001, the
Order of Jamaica in 1974, the Norman Manley Award for
Excellence in the field of Arts, the Institute of
Jamaica's Musgrave Silver and Gold medals for
distinguished eminence in the field of Arts and
Culture, and in 1983 the honorary Degree of Doctor of
Letters from the University of the West Indies.

Special House tribute for Miss Lou

THE House of Representatives is to name a day on which
parliamentarians can pay tribute to Louise Bennett,
who died yesterday in Canada.

Wykeham McNeill, minister of state for tourism and
entertainment, and Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, MP for St
Catherine Central, paid tribute to Miss Lou in the
House yesterday. Grange suggested that a monument be
erected in her memory.

[Im The Truth]

I never heard of her but now I have E se African

Picture of Miss Lou

[Erzulie Danto]

Rest in peace Nana Lou. Give thanks for your words of laughter that keep us whole and beautiful despite the struggle and strife. Give thanks for keeping us proud of our kreyol languages and our Afrikan ways of speech. Continue to keep us mirthful yet shrewd from the other side, Ancestor. Ase O.