Marcia Jackson wins Mutabaruka Award at IRAWMA

Poet and dramatist Marcia Jackson said she feels honoured to have been chosen as this year's recipient of the Mutabaruka Award for Best Poet/Spoken Word Entertainer of The Year at the recent IRAWMA Awards in Florida last month.

"Mutabaruka is someone I've always looked up to since I was a child. I admire his diverse writing style and his determination to teach us about our history through poetry. He and Miss Lou are two of my favourite cultural icons. I thank the organisers of the IRAWAMA Awards for recognising my work as a poet with this award. I also have to thank my friend and mentor Richie Innocent for his continued guidance and support on this journey," she said.

Jackson, who is also a registered nurse instructor, is encouraging more women to get into dub poetry.

"It's more than just an art form. It's a powerful combination of phrases and metaphors. Dub poetry helps us to better express ourselves and make sense of the world and our place in it," said Jackson. She is currently working on several projects.

"At the moment I am working on an anthology of poems titled Challenge Is My Motivation that I plan to publish in July. I am also working on my second dub poetry/spoken word album which is scheduled to be released in December," she said.

Jackson is also gearing up for the fourth staging of the Unity Dance which is held annually in honour of Nursing Month in Florida. This year's staging will feature award-winning DJ MJ From London (Silver Links sound) and DJ Killa Squadd from Palm Bay, Florida.