Baring it All

Marguerite Anderson's anthology of poems titled "Echoes From the Naked Soul" is what I call a memoir in poetry. As stated in the introduction, the writer is "letting you in" her life journey, and I am privileged to have shared part of Marguerite's life journey having grown up in the same neighbourhood of Olympic Gardens and Water House. We attended the same brother-sister high schools, and eventually taught together at Wolmer's High School for Boys in the 1990s. While teaching at Wolmer's, we discovered that we shared an avid interest in language, literature and in theatre. Growing up as children in Water House in the 1970s and 80s was a painful and beautiful battle. After decades of internalizing the pain and the struggles experienced during her childhood, Marguerite decided to make peace with her spirit by emptying her soul of the burden she carried for decades; her poetry tells the stories and takes you on an emotional journey.

Marguerite's anthology covers issues ranging from child-rearing practices, religiosity, child molestation, sexuality, to domestic abuse. The writer dares to speak her truth on issues that are still considered taboo by systems and establishments erected by the status quo and by the Church. Rebellious you say? Brave is more like it! Marguerite does not censor her experiences nor those she witnessed as she moved from childhood into adulthood. Neither does she censor the language she uses to tell her stories. She raises the curtain on the atrocities she lived through as a child and young adult and as she shares her stories, it assuages the pain and allows for a spiritual release and liberation. The pain in "Rebirth" is so intense, it is palpable. "Broken" also carries the pain of brokenness, as demonstrated in the short, two- and three-word lines. However, despite all the childhood drama and trauma, the persona persists and perseveres in clinging to her religious faith as she declares, "Oh, God on High, I give thee thanks/And raise thee high above all ranks" in "The Voice of Thanks".

Marguerite pulls away the sheets and the ceremonial garbs to expose the evils of child molestation in "This Philosophy" and domestic and psychological abuse of women in "Undress Me" even by members of the clergy and men of 'the cloth.' The writer challenges child-rearing practices that were normalized in Jamaica decades ago and resents the notion that children must be seen and not be heard. It is a fact that many women continue to suffer from domestic abuse in Jamaica (and in other countries) while countless numbers continue to go missing never to be seen again!

In "A Woman's Anthem" Marguerite celebrates, unapologetically, the power of a woman's sexuality and the divinity of sex- for why should women be shamed about their "velvet purse" that many men crave so much?

"Echoes From the Naked Soul" is an anthology whose poems are raw, real, and riveting. They will recalibrate your inside and stir your emotions until you shed a tear or two. This is the type of poetry that inspires self-liberation and social revolution.

Canute Lawrence, OCT

Educator, Actor, & Writer

Best-Selling Author of “Pathology of A Pandemic”