A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice

A Likkle Miss Lou is a book in two parts. First, it is story about a girl who finds her voice when her mother changes her school to one that is more accepting of creativity. Then there is “A Note from the Author”, three pages including a photograph of Louise Bennett Coverley, some biographical information about Coverley and how Miss Lou has affected the life of the author. The book also includes a glossary of some of the terms in the story (such as doctor bird and peanut drops) and references as some of the incidents in the story are taken from unpublished works by Coverley.

Louise Bennett Coverley, later called Miss Lou, was a poet and folklorist who grew up in Jamaica and travelled around the world. She became a cultural icon and hero for her lifelong work in Jamaican patois both in performance and writing. A Likkle Miss Lou tells of an early period in Coverley’s life, the time when she first found her voice in a new school where she could express herself in the language that she heard every day and dearly loved. Readers can recognize this as being the time when she started on the road that she followed for the rest of her life.

Nadia L. Hohn briefly places the child Louise in her environment and emphasizes how she loves words and language. Readers follow her to school where her use of the Jamaican patois is rebuked. The story continues as she is sent to a new school where creativity is allowed and encouraged. The patois is scattered through the story in a way that will thrill those who speak the language while letting readers know what it is that Louise loves in hearing it spoken around her.

The illustrations by Eugenie Fernandes are joyous and add another appealing layer to the story. Readers see Fernandes’ imagination recalling the wonder Louise has seen around her and how sad she becomes when being reprimanded for writing in patois in her homework. Fernandes’ paintings are luscious, colourful and perfectly fit the story while extending the meaning and readers’ connection to the words.

It is obvious that the author admires both the woman Miss Lou and her accomplishments. This story is a welcome reminder that language varies and has a strong connection to those who speak it. We also see the joy in finding our voice, expressing our self in our own words. Miss Lou was one of the first people to put forward a patois, and she both led the way and inspired others to express themselves in their own way. A Likkle Miss Lou is a good story, and it is wonderful to see a small portion of an amazing life and to be inspired by the victory of speaking in one’s own voice.