Jamaican journalist, marketer, and now author, Curtis Myrie, officially launched his debut poetry collection, Staring Into My Soul, at the 2nd annual Jamaica Brew Literary and Film Festival at the Miramar Civic Centre.
The book’s unveiling was part of a panel discussion centered on the theme Liberty and Our Journey Forward.
A deeply introspective work, Staring Into My Soul is a compilation of 75 poems spanning years of Myrie’s life, bound together with recent pieces that explore self-reflection, identity, and the human condition. “It’s a particular introspection,” Myrie explained. “About yourself… the questions you keep asking yourself and about developments around you.”
The collection embraces a creative blend of standard English and Jamaican Patwa, an element praised by international media and entertainment practitioner Clyde McKenzie in his foreword. McKenzie describes Myrie as a masterful navigator of the linguistic duality that defines Jamaica’s heritage. “Staring Into My Soul is not merely a book,” McKenzie writes, “it’s an invitation to accompany Curtis to look inward. His poetry reflects an ability to see beneath the surface and capture the unspoken truths at the heart of the human experience. Deeply introspective yet universally resonant, Myrie’s work explores themes of love, loss, hope, and the eternal human search for meaning.”
A tribute to the past, a message for the present
Myrie dedicates the book to his late high school classmate, attorney Donovan Jackson, who had long urged him to publish his poetry. He also acknowledges his former teacher and coach, the late Joseph Sanguinetti, who once likened his poetry to cocoa in need of a basket—the book serving as that much-needed vessel.
The publication was made possible through partnerships with award-winning authors and book developers Andrene Bonner and Faith Nelson. Sponsorship came from Jackson’s law firm, Nunes, Scholefield, Deleon & Co, along with St. George’s College Old Boys Association of Florida and Deltana, an architectural hardware manufacturer founded by a fellow alumnus.
Curtis Myrie, a Caribbean Broadcasting Merit Award winner known for his acclaimed documentary on Jamaica’s 1998 Reggae Boyz World Cup campaign, began writing poetry and journalism while still in high school. His work has been recognized for capturing the resilience of the Caribbean spirit. Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner Kwame McPherson calls Staring Into My Soul “a testament to the determination and adaptability of people facing challenges and tapping into their inner strength.”
A poetic journey through Jamaica’s realities
The book is structured around four central themes: Garrison and Gordon House, Race and Kulcha, Family an Yaad, and Di Self and Di Soul. Acclaimed dub poet Malachi Smith notes that Myrie’s experiences allow him to paint an authentic picture of Jamaican life. “This is understanding the intricacies of the Jamaican, Caribbean, or African realities from the experience of a sharp-eyed scribe who has lived it—born into it, walked into it, went to school into it, went to bed into it, woke up into it, went to work into it, and is still heartened and simultaneously pained by it.”
Filmmaker and author Judith Falloon Reid highlights Myrie’s raw and evocative use of language. “The language punches—every inch of the Jamaican experience is explored in live and living colour.”
One of the most haunting pieces in the Di Self and Di Soul section, Facing Life, encapsulates Myrie’s striking poetic voice:
“you shy away from the mirror,
saying all di time yu ah go face it
but shut yu eye in front ah it
each time yu stan up like yu tuff
pure powder puff man weh blink
each time yu tink…”
With its bold exploration of personal and cultural identity, Staring Into My Soul cements Curtis Myrie’s place as an essential voice in contemporary Caribbean literature.
