Africanism in Linton Kwesi Johnsons Early Poetry

Since “the etymology of diaspora suggests both routes (scattering) and roots (sowing)” (Procter 2003: 14), Afro-Caribbean and Black British dub poets, as represented by Jamaicanborn Linton Kwesi Johnson, take heed of their artistic and anthropological ancestry, emphasising their shared Africanness. My paper is therefore an attempt to take a closer look at select African elements prevalent in Johnson's early literary output, namely his first two collections of poetry – Voices of the Living and the Dead (1974) and Dread Beat An' Blood (1975).