Bahamian Scene

Book excerpt: Bahamian Scene is a colourful and exciting volume of poems depicting with great insight, many aspects of Bahamian life. The verse is a record of the people and the islands in the mid and later sixties - a time of political, social, technological and silent revolution. Conditions and customs changed rapidly, and the author has captured the ways of the people of her beloved islands. Through her work, this unique lifestyle will be preserved. The poet uses the Bahamian dialect in most of these poems and a colourful and rhythmically rich language flows easily. The dialect adds to the authenticity of the poetry, as Dr. Wallace describes the physical beauty of the islands, and the friendliness of the good-natured Bahamian people. Their wonderful sense of humour is evident throughout the poems. Surprisingly and delightfully, strains of humour run through verse with more serious themes. In these verses, we see the philosophy and careful thought needed to initiate changes so rapidly occurring in the Bahamas. The rapid change created a kind of dynamism that lends itself to exciting and vibrant poetry. Readers will be delighted by this poetry, and enlightened by the poet's understanding of the Bahamas as an emerging nation.