Jamaica Poetry Festival to honor Belafonte, Miss Lou, Gibran. Come August 13, the late Harry Belafonte, Louise Bennett-Coverley, and poet Khalil Gibran will be honored at the Jamaica Poetry Festival. “I just hasten to say that we have been engaging with Harry Belafonte for the past 12 years and we have engaged with him from last year before he transitioned, and so we are still honoring him with the Lifetime Achievement Award,” event conceptualizer Yasus Afari told the Jamaica Observer. The event will be held at Louise Bennett Garden Theatre. Belafonte, who’s dynamic acappella shout of “Day-O!” from The Banana Boat Song and other music from world folk traditions propelled him to international stardom, reportedly died at his home in Manhattan, New York, on April 25. He was 96 years old. Renowned poet and folklorist Louise “Miss Lou” Bennett-Coverley died in July 2006 at 86 years old. Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett will also be present to read an excerpt from his upcoming book.
