Poet Yasus Afari was a busy man last Friday evening at Redbones the Blues Café in St Andrew. In addition to a slot as performer, he was promoter and producer for Pomedy, the second in a series of shows featuring his hybrid of poetry and comedy.

An enthusiastic audience warmed to the cast which also included Craig McNally, Dr Michael Abrahams, Dufton Sheperd, DYCR and Joan Andrea Hutchinson.

There was rarely a dull moment as each act delivered satisfactory sets and interacted well with a near full house.

Abrahams, a gynaecologist, struck a chord with his humorous take on current hot topics like Stephen Fray, the Montego Bay man who allegedly hijacked a Canadian flight at the Sangster International Airport two months ago.

"Yuh can imagine if dat was Air Jamaica? Him woulda f..t!" Abrahams exclaimed to rapturous applause.

Sheperd was also in good form. He pointed to the unflattering surnames of American sprinters Tyson Gay, Michael Dick and Wallace Spearmon, and said it would be a nightmare for Jamaican commentators - especially if they finished in the order of Spearmon, Dick, Gay.

Afari had the lengthiest stint, robustly performing poems like the clever 'Hygiene' and 'Patois Talking'. The latter champions the local dialect which he believes is being challenged by the influx of cable television from North America.

'Poeticising' comedy

After his set, Afari returned 'backstage'. He seemed relieved that his latest attempt at empowerment went over well.

"What wi want to do is 'poeticise' comedy and comedicise poetry. What it also does is give poetry another element of commercial viability," he told The Gleaner.

The first staging of Pomedy took place one month earlier at the St Elizabeth Technical High School auditorium and featured largely the same cast. Afari says more shows are planned locally this year while there are tentative dates for Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and New York.

- H.C.