Taking Words For A Walk, the latest collection of poetry by Dr. Ralph Thompson, will be launched by the Department of Literatures in English, University of the West Indies, Mona on Sunday, March 24 at 11:00am at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts. Distinguished poet and UWI Emeritus Professor, Mervyn Morris, will be the guest speaker.
 
Thompson’s new collection consists of two parts: a compilation of new poems and selected poems from previous publications, some significantly revised. In his introduction to the volume, critic and poet, Edward Baugh describes the new poems as “a generous gift” that enhances Thompson’s stature in the craft. The inclusion of selected poems, Baugh states, allows us to refresh our delight in them and “appreciate the new pieces all the more as we hear them speak to and extend the earlier pieces, and hear the Thompson voice continuing to be true to itself”.
 
An accomplished poet, Taking Words For A Walk is Dr. Thompson’s fourth collection. His earlier titles are The Denting of a Wave (1991), Moving On (1997) and View From Mount Diablo (2003), a narrative poem which won the Jamaica National Literary Award in manuscript in 2001. His work has also appeared in a number of prestigious international journals including Ariel, Evergreen Review, Mississippi Review, London Magazine and Caribbean Writers. He is also represented in a number of anthologies including The Oxford Anthology of Caribbean Verse, The Heinemann Book of Caribbean Poetry and The Dulwich Poetry Festival Review. Thompson is also an accomplished painter and he is featured in the publication Writers Who Paint, Painters Who Write.
 
Currently a director of Musson (Jamaica) Limited and Managing Director of C.D. Alexander Realty Limited, Dr. Thompson has managed to successfully balance writing and a career in business. He is also a former Managing Director of Pan Jamaica Investment Trust and former Chief Executive Officer of Seprod. The recipient of a national honour in 1988, the Commander of Distinction, he also has a distinguished record of public service. In this respect he has served on the Judicial Services Commission, and the Exploratory Commission on Arts and Culture; he was head of the National Volunteers and Agro 21 and past director of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, the Agricultural Credit Bank and the National Gallery of Jamaica. He is also a former member of the National Council on Education and the Early Childhood Commission.
 
An avid education activist, Dr. Thompson has been an advocate for early childhood education in Jamaica for the past 20 years. His annual analysis of the CXC Examination results typically receives much attention when it is published in the press.Members of the public are invited to attend the launch where copies of Taking Words For A Walk will be on sale.
Contact: Rachel Moseley-WoodDepartment of Literatures in English, UWI, Mona927 2217