Beverley East: 'Reading Souldance was sheer bliss'

Article Published in Pure Class, Sunday Herald
Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Timing is everything, and wasn’t I happy to know that I would be in Jamaica by the July 24. What was happening on July 24? The birth of a new book and of course, I had to be there to share the joy.

I am able to keep abreast of all events globally from the advancement of technology and the new phase of Facebook. There it was posted under the events page, “An invitation to join the author Jean Lowrie-Chin for a signing of Souldance. The date was set in stone in my diary.

I arrived the day before wiped out from a long flight and then a series of meetings during the day on Friday - the 90-degree heat wasn’t helping me to move any quicker. But at 6 p.m. I jumped in a cab and headed for 62 Shortwood Road, Kingston 8.

The driver looked at me a little confused. “62 Shortwood … What’s it near?” he asked. “It’s the Stella Maris,” … he interrupts me and his face lit up. “Oh, Stella Maris , why you never say dat before? I used to take the nuns back and forth,” he said with pride and our conversation continues until I arrive there.

The evening was filled with introductions, music, readings and a grand finale with a couple of songs from the balladeer, the great Boris Gardiner. The refreshments were a combination of easy cook fritters and simple ready made rice dishes, juices and other goodies provided by Jean Lowrie-Chin’s clients.

Seduction of Souldance

Timing is everything but when I came home with my precious copy I wanted to read it then and there, but I couldn’t. Over the weekend, I had to prepare myself for a fraud court case. But like a disobedient child I kept peeking into my book and reading some of the poems and the articles.

And although I consider myself a very disciplined person I just had to stop what I was doing, and relax, find a comfortable chair by the window where I could feel the breeze on my face and exhale and absorb the seduction of Souldance.

The book is filled with many poems and a patchwork of articles, which express the fullness of Jean Lowrie-Chin’s life. Both the articles and poems give you a guided tour, step by step like a dance of her life from being one of four growing up with a doting stepfather, to parenthood, to the pride of watching our Jamaican athletics magic in Beijing.

Reading Souldance was sheer bliss. It stirred my soul, and my emotions danced and slipped to the cadence of her poems, which I equally loved - especially Pick-Up Time, which reminded me of when my son was so young and although many of the articles touched my soul the pride of living in Jamaica is expressed with such pride through No Visa Required and The Best of Times in Beijing.