ABSTRACT
Vincent went on to become an influential teacher in Caribbean and African History and he was a key leader in the Black liberation movement in the UK. Valerie Bloom was born in Jamaica in 1956. She was the oldest of nine siblings. She moved to England in 1979, where she attended university in Canterbury, Kent, where she obtained both her undergraduate degree in English with African and Caribbean studies and a master’s degree. Her poetry incorporates Jamaican folk tales, proverbs and so much more. This allows readers and listeners from not only a Jamaican background but also more widely a Caribbean background to relate closely to the experiences in which she notes in her poetry. Valerie has appeared on a number of BBC programs. ‘Haircut Rap’ is inspired by when Valerie’s children decided to play barber and cut each other’s hair. The poem is very rhythmic and almost feels like a song.
