The mountains of Jamaica rise up out of the turquoise-blue Caribbean. From those jaggy peaks, rolling hills — covered in lush green rainforests — taper down to soft-sand beaches along the coast.

It makes perfect sense that the first Jamaican inhabitants — the Taino from South America — gave the island a name that means ‘Land of Wood and Water.’ It’s all as if paradise is beckoning you to come, sit, relax.

Music floats on the air in both the rhythmic lilt of reggae music and Jamaican patois, a creole language that combines elements of English, Spanish, and African languages.

Yes, there are pirates in Jamaica’s past, along with Spanish conquistadors, British interlopers, and a history of slavery. But Jamaica is now a cultural superpower, sharing its feel-good music (with a message), colorful cuisine, star athletes, and multicultural gifts with the world. 

In this episode, we explore the so-literal-they’re-poetic names of some Jamaican towns, sing along to our favorite Bob Marley tunes, dig into the history of jerk chicken, and spy on Ian Fleming’s Jamaican estate. Then we recommend five great books that took us to Jamaica on the page.

Here are the books we recommended in the show:

Black Cake: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson

https://bit.ly/3XSUjVH

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

https://bookshop.org/a/1240/9780374605988

Black Heart of Jamaica by Julia Golding

https://amzn.to/3Yx6cRK

Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook by Melissa Thompson

https://bit.ly/3ZjfUrj

West Winds: Recipes, History and Tales from Jamaica by Riaz Phillips

https://bit.ly/3YXmkg9

The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller - audio

https://amzn.to/3Yx6JmI

The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller - print

https://bit.ly/41oF4GP

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2023–03–06-jamaica

Transcript: http://strongsenseofplace.com/transcriptions/47_jamaica_transcript

Do you enjoy our show and website? Do you love bonus content? Do you enjoy chatting with other book lovers? Please consider supporting our work on Patreon! You’ll get access to bonus goodies, input on which destinations we cover each season, and become part of the Strong Sense of Place community. Every little bit helps us keep the show going and makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Get all the info you need right here.

https://www.patreon.com/strongsenseofplace

You can always find us at:

- Our site

- Instagram

- Facebook

- Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices