Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Just after the traditional blessing had been said and the large crowd under the tents at Jake's, Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, had started to disperse last Sunday, Calabash's founder and artistic director Colin Channer asked the festival's producer, Justine Henzell, about next year's dates.

Henzell announced May 28-30, 2010, and there was a final burst of applause at the 2009 Calabash International Literary Festival. Next year's staging will be Calabash's 10th.

Looking ahead to 2010, Channer said there are some authors on the wish list, some of whom have already committed to reading at the 10th Calabash. The Sunday Gleaner asks if it's possible Channer or the festival's programming director Kwame Dawes will read again and there is a stunner in Channer's reply: "Let's just say that I have read at Calabash only once in my life, which was a long time ago, in 2001. Many people think I might be due for a return. Next year's Calabash is going to be really special. It must be. The people deserve it. It may also be my last Calabash as artistic director and I want to make sure that I leave the festival in a good position."

This year's Calabash, which almost did not happen as it was initially cancelled because of sponsorship reduction, was a huge affair.

Channer describes it as "the biggest and best Calabash to date", noting that the 2,000 programmes had been sold out by 9 p.m. on the opening night. More were printed overnight in Kingston and that extra stock ran out as well. He estimates Friday's attendance at 2,600 persons and Saturday's and Sunday's peak at about 4,600 and 3,000 people, respectively.

The especially high points were "on opening night, the audience's reaction to seeing Junot Diaz read with Edwidge Danticat as well as that perfectly executed performance by Tarrus Riley. Two other high points were the spectacular mental agility displayed by Pico Iyer and Paul Holdengraber in their conversation on Saturday afternoon, and seeing Robert Pinsky, several times the Poet Laureate of the United States of America, dancing onstage with Marilyn Chin after their reading on Sunday afternoon."

Iyer and Holdengraper navigated various topics related with amazing ease during 'The Chatterbox' on Saturday, day two of Calabash 2009, a good deal of their conversation around the Dalai Lama, with whom travel writer Iyer has spent extensive time over 30 years and written The Open Road out of their discussions.

Biggest opening night

Channer does not attribute the big turnout on opening night to the furore over Calabash's sponsorship. He says "We had our biggest opening night because we had the best Friday night line-up ever. Talk about 'must come' programming. It was not only filled with big names, it was diverse. There was poetry, fiction, cinema and live music. We had among others Velma Pollard, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz, Melvin Van Peebles and Tarrus Riley. These are folks that people in Jamaica know, respect and cherish."

A few of the authors at this year's Calabash were making repeat appearances, among them Staceyann Chin, Junot Diaz, Rachel Manley and Linton Kwesi Johnson. The Sunday Gleaner asked if there is a danger of repeats too close together and if there is a deficiency of crack Jamaican and Caribbean writers. Channer pointed out that "Sometimes we think that people have read many times at Calabash because they remain in the public eye in the intervening years or actually attend the festival as members of the audience. Let's look at the names you've mentioned. Staceyann last read at Calabash in 2005, which was four years ago. Rachel last read at Calabash in 2003, which was six years ago. Junot last read at Calabash in 2002, which was seven years ago. Linton has read at Calabash only once, and that was in 2005 in the first 'Two The Hard Way' set, which featured him and Amiri Baraka.

"I am a little surprised that you mentioned a deficiency of crack Jamaican authors at Calabash after seeing the following Jamaican authors at Calabash 2009: Millicent Graham, Velma Pollard, Staceyann Chin, The Hon Edward Seaga, Anthony Winkler, Geoffrey Philp, Marlon James and Rachel Manley. We can add to this list the four Jamaican non-authors who read from To Sir With Love and the five Jamaican musicians who did the tribute to the lyrics of Beres Hammond. Is it that you think the people listed above are second rate? Not crack?" Channer asked.

The Life Sentence session with Manley, Patrick French and Selwyn Cudjoe was very good, French especially engaging with his biography of VS Naipaul.

Open mic sessions

And the 'Jamaican Idyll' open mic sessions have become a part of Calabash that the audience enjoys tremendously, Denise Hunt hosting them this year. The Sunday Gleaner noted that at times there was a marked difference in form between the open mic writers and the various Calabash sessions, and asked if this has become a way of satisfying different literary tastes.

Channer replied: "Calabash is nothing more than a translation of the spirit of reggae into a literary experience. In this sense, the festival is earthy, inspirational, daring and diverse. The open mic is an expression of these four values. Remember in the old days of dancehall, say, the '70s, when the 'prentos' would get a chance to 'touch the mic'? Our open mic is a translation of that."