How To Say Babylon: A Memoir

Poet Sinclair (Cannibal) recounts her journey from her strictly traditional Rastafarian background toward a new life in the United States. She begins her story by describing her parents’ efforts to overcome barriers in Jamaica, though they ultimately put different barriers before their children. She hauntingly describes her father’s hatred and fear of Western influences—the Babylon of the title—which was the bogeyman of her youth, invoked to justify restraints on women’s individuality and freedom. Sinclair’s skills as a poet are on full display, offering prose that sings, rages, and soothes in equal turns. Narrating her own memoir, Sinclair speaks with a light Jamaican accent and adopts her parents’ more rhythmic accents when required. Listeners will be rapt, hanging on her every word as she brings her memories vividly to life. Sinclair writes a highly personal coming-of-age story, but it’s also a commentary on generational trauma, patriarchal injustices, and Rastafarianism’s rejection of colonization. This work is a testament to her mother’s love and educational prowess, as well as Sinclair’s own lion heart.