From Jamaica to the Queen City: A Conversation with Poet Jheanelle Kerr Ewansiha

Jheanelle Kerr Ewansiha (Photo by Benjamin Joe)

Poetry is a vital cornerstone of Buffalo’s artistic community, but one poet here who has competed and won poetry slams on two continents brings a different perspective to the city’s world of the written and spoken word.

Her name is Jheanelle Kerr Ewansiha and she hails from the island of Jamaica — a fact that not only serves as a point of personal pride, but one in which she continually explores and shares through her work.

“I feel like being Jamaican as a whole, it makes you have this unique love and appreciation for your culture. It’s so strong. I just feel we’re very proud as a people,” Jheanelle said. “It’s just this inherent cry for your country. And for your culture.”

Jheanelle’s art not only examines her personal life experiences on her native island, but her deeply held beliefs on critical social issues, as well. In a poem that seemingly talks about cooking curry chicken, for instance, she pivots quickly to violence against women. Yet, while Jheanelle herself is happily married and lives a life far from the fate of her poem’s character, she said it’s important to call out behavior, even if it hasn’t touched you personally.

“A lot of my poems are not about (personal) situations but about experiences that I’ve either seen, experienced or heard about from very close friends. So, I’m kind of vicariously living through them,” she said. “Parts of that poem are true experiences from other people. It tells a story. When you read it, you can have a personal connection to it.”

Jheanelle explains further that the poem, ‘Curry Chicken’ talks about a culture of violence that she’s witnessed in Jamaica.

"That happens a lot of times in African countries. I wanted to talk about how you get beaten as a child, and now when you’re older, men continue to do that to (women) … I don’t want to continue that story, so I am not going to be with men who do that to me. I’m going to cut that ancestorial chain.”

Jheanelle’s journey from Jamaica has been a long one. After graduating school at age 16, she went to Ghana for college where she studied theater. That didn’t catch, so she returned home, but ventured out again at the age of 19 to Niagara Falls where her uncle, grandmother and cousins lived, to study communications at SUNY Niagara. She eventually graduated from the community college, as well as from Niagara University.

In moving to Western New York, Jheanelle recalls being told to make sure she had a coat. Still, she had no idea what awaited her that first winter.

“We don’t have snow in Jamaica, so the first time I saw it through the window, I was like, ‘It is so pretty!’” she said. “But then I went outside and I was, ‘No!” (laughter) My uncles didn’t prepare me at all. They said to wear a jacket, but in Jamaica we don’t know this big jacket that people be carrying! We just know the little hoodies… But now I’ve gotten used to it. I learned to drive in it, so it’s good.”

Though she’s lived in Buffalo now for eight years, Jheanelle has not lost connection with her homeland.

During an interview with 1120 Press, she described seeing hurricanes as a child, and the zinc roofs torn off houses. But Hurricane Melissa, which hit the island hard at the beginning of November, was far worse than any of those experiences. The Category 5 storm, in fact, was measured as the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, accounting for 102 deaths with 54 of those occurring in Jamaica.

Jheanelle did what she could to help, even fundraising for non-perishable food and monetary donations. She and her family also gathered some funds together and sent it to those in need.

Now, more than a month later, Jamaica continues to recover. And though the road ahead may be rough, Jheanelle said the island will endure.

“We little, but we ‘tallawah’” she said. “It means ‘we’re a small island, but we’re strong, we’re resilient.’ And we will get back on our feet!”

A sentiment so heartfelt it seems worthy of a poem.

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A noted and accomplished slam poet, you can follow Jheanelle on Instagram HERE where you can see her perform many of her poems. In her book, 'Your Beautiful,' she examines poignant themes ranging from self-acceptance and mindfulness, to the transformative power of love, both divine and earthly. Released in May 2024, it is available HERE.