A Tribute to Kamau Brathwaite By Ambassador David Comissiong
(Tribute delivered by David Comissiong at the funeral service for Kamau Brathwaite (1930-2020) on Friday 21st February 2020 at the James Street Methodist Church in Bridgetown, Barbados) I have been asked to give a funeral tribute to Kamau Brathwaite. But this is a very difficult task, for a funeral tribute typically consists of reminiscences and reflections on the past -- on your memories and past experiences with someone who has passed on. But this is really not possible in the case of Kamau! I simply cannot think of Kamau Brathwaite as being "in the past" or "of the past " -- he is too relevant, too fresh, too urgent, too contemporary, too futuristic! Kamau has NOT left us -- he is very much here with us, among us, in the form and substance of the tremendous body of work that he has produced. And also in the sheer power of his lived example. (I must confess that yesterday in the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation studio, when I listen...