Tag: poetry

CPL TEAMS CONFIRM THEIR BREAKOUT PLAYER RETENTIONS

Ahead of the highly anticipated Caribbean Premier League Draft, all six franchises have confirmed their mandatory pre-draft Breakout Player retentions, locking in a group of emerging Caribbean stars who represent the next generation of regional cricket excellence.

Under the CPL’s player draft and acquisition regulations for the 2026 season, each franchise was permitted to retain one player ahead of the draft, with that player required to be selected from the team’s Breakout Player category. The retained players – Joshua James, Ramon Simmonds, Quentin Sampson, Navin Bidaisee, Ackeem Auguste, and Nathan Edward – have each earned recognition for their performances, potential, and growing impact across Caribbean cricket.

The six retained Breakout Players are:

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons – Joshua James

Barbados Royals – Ramon Simmonds

Guyana Amazon Warriors – Quentin Sampson

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots – Navin Bidaisee

Saint Lucia Kings – Ackeem Auguste

Trinbago Knight Riders – Nathan Edward

Each franchise will name a total of three Breakout Players in their final squad for the 2026 season, reinforcing the CPL’s continued commitment to developing emerging Caribbean talent and providing young players with opportunities on the region’s biggest cricketing stage.

As part of the tournament regulations, every team will also be required to field at least one Breakout Player in every match throughout the season.

With only one pre-draft retention allowed – and that retention reserved exclusively for a Breakout Player – the remaining squad positions for all six teams will now be filled during the CPL Draft, setting the stage for one of the most competitive and exciting player selections in league history.

The Caribbean Premier League continues to serve as the premier platform for Caribbean cricket, combining elite entertainment with a proven pathway for the next generation of players to develop and succeed on the global stage.

Poet Laureate Kwame Dawes

Writer: Jean Lowrie- Chin

Professor Kwame Dawes

Congratulations to celebrated poet, editor, musician and storyteller Professor Kwame Dawes on his investiture as Poet Laureate of Jamaica last week. He is the son of novelist and Institute of Jamaica Executive Director Neville Dawes. The Jamaica College graduate was moved by a presentation by students of his alma mater at the event. He holds a BA in Literatures in English at UWI and as a Commonwealth Scholar earned a PhD at the University of New Brunswick.

Professor Dawes has won prestigious awards for his over 30 collections of poetry and is a co-founder of the Calabash International Poetry Festival. The Musgrave Silver Medallist  is a professor of Literary Arts at Brown University and lecturer in the Master of Fine Arts Programme at Pacific University in Oregan.

Jamaica’s First Poet Laureate was Tom Redcam (his nom-de-plume was his surname spelled backwards – MacDermot), who was so honoured posthumously, from 1910 to 1933. J.E.C McFarlane served from 1953 to his death in 1962. After it was re-instituted in 2014, we have been blessed with legendary Poet Laureates: Mervyn Morris, Lorna Goodison and Olive Senior.

I remember the late Ralph Thompson advocating the teaching of poetry, pointing out that when we develop imagination, people will have the ability to discern consequences before endangering themselves. Besides the grandeur of great lines, what better reason is there to teach and enjoy poetry?

Source: Jamaica Observer