The All Jamaican Library

Conceived by jamaica’s first poet laureate, thomas macdermot, the all jamaican library is where literary publishing in jamaica found its footing.This indigenous imprint was designed to put forth work written by jamaicans about jamaica while being reasonably priced in order to remain accessible to the locals.Though it only ran for six years, macdermot published two of his own novels, becka’s buckra baby 1904 and one brown girl and 1909 comprising the story of noel, as well as e.A.Dodds’ maroon medicine 1905 the first collection of stories by a caribbean writer and w.A.Campbell’s short story, marguarite: a story of the earthquake 1907 . The first work from the series, becka’s buckra baby, is a tragic story of race and class following the life of noel maud bronvola.Wanting to honor her father after his death, noel dedicates herself to helping others, eventually bringing a gift to a young child that has unexpected consequences.The second work, maroon medicine, is a collection of short stories that focus on the lighter sides of daily jamaican life.Inspired by the spider-trickster spirit anansi, these stories are a celebration of west african folklore.The third work, marguerite: a story of the earthquake, is a short story following the tragic romance between george hodlin and marguerite.Nurturing marguerite back to health and attempting to win her affections, the young lover’s lives and plans for the future are upended once an earthquake strikes kingston.George now away at scho...

Conceived by jamaica’s first poet laureate, thomas macdermot, the all jamaican library is where literary publishing in jamaica found its footing.This indigenous imprint was designed