By Claude McKay

Claude McKay was one of the twentieth century’s finest poets and Constab Ballads (1912) was his second published work, after Songs of Jamaica earlier that year. This collection was also written in Jamaican Patois and was largely based on his experiences while serving as a police constable in Spanish Town. The poems are an alluring combination of traditional verses, dramatic monologues and confessional love lyrics.

This collection includes poems such as:
– DE ROUTE MARCH
– FLAT-FOOT DRILL
– PAPINE CORNER
– COTCH DONKEY
– A RECRUIT ON THE CORPY
– PAY-DAY
– KNUTSFORD PARK RACES
– THE HEART OF A CONSTAB
– FE ME SAL
– THE MALINGERER
– A LABOURER’S LIFE GIVE ME
– SUKEE RIVER