The Governor of Rhode Island, Dan McKee, has appointed Jamaican-born Colin Channer as the state’s new poet-laureate. In his announcement, the governor noted Channer’s talent and the way his work has impacted the lives of many people. With his new five-year appointment, Channer will join the ranks of previous state poets, including Michael Harper, the late C.D. Wright, Thomas chandler, Lisa Starr, Rick Benjamin, and Tina Cane.

Arts Council welcomes Channer

According to Lynne McCormack, the executive director for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the council was thrilled with the choice of Channer. She lauded his accomplishents and his national recognition as a poet and added that the council looks forward to working with him as he fosters greater appreciation and participation in poetry and literary activities in Rhode Island.

Channer’s reaction to his appointment

“To be named State Poet is a gushy surprise and leveling honor. Poetry is many things, including a reachable, teachable way to strengthen empathy and stretch toward transcendence. It’s also just a bunch of fun,” said Channer. “I was born lucky, as my mother Phyllis, a retired pharmacist, just loves to say. This shocking honor proves her point. And hey, she’s always right!”

Background of a writer

Colin Channer was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and has been called “Bob Marley with a pen” because of the spiritual, social, and sensual themes presented in his work from a Jamaican perspective. He was a student at Ardenne and Meadowbrook High Schools and began his writing career by writing love poems and other correspondence for male students for a fee of one dollar per letter and $1.50 for adding a poem. He moved to New York in 1982 to pursue a career in journalism, but after reading “The Final Passage” by Caryl Phillips, he discovered the potential of fiction written from a Jamaican point of view. He subsequently went on to earn a BA in Media Communications from Hunter College at City University of New York (CUNY). He moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1988 to work as a magazine journalist, but returned to New York in 1991 to have sight-saving eye surgery. He worked at various jobs while trying to get a novel published, and in 1998, “Waiting in Vain” appeared and was chosen as a Critic’s Choice by That Washington Post newspaper, which hailed it as a “redefinition of the Caribbean novel. His style, which unapologetically addresses contemporary themes and uses Jamaican Patois as dialogue has prompted some critics to call him  “a reggae writer.”

A variety of ventures

Best known as a novelist, Channer’s influence has been widely felt outside of the literary sector. He was named co-creative director of Eziba, an online retail enterprise selling global handicrafts and then launched his own design and branding company, Squad 1962. It was retained by Island Outpost, a group of hotels created by Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell. In 2001, Channer joined Jamaican poet Kwame Dawes in creating the Calabash International Literary Festival Trust, a nonprofit designed to “transform the literary arts in the Caribbean.” The annual festival is the event of choice for many of the most talented authors in the world. Channer also founded and play bass in the reggae band, Pipecock Jaxxon. Channer has taught in London, New York City, and Jamaica. He served as assistant professor of English and the coordinator of the BA creative writing program at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College.

Additional awards and honors

Channer has received numerous awards and honors. His most recent poetry collection, “Console,” was named a New Yorker Magazine Best Book of 2023 and was a finalist for the New England Book Award. He received the 2023 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award for creative excellent, a 2023 Richard B. Saloman Faculty Research Award from Brown University for his excellence in scholarship, and a 2022 Fellowship from the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. He has also won fellowships in Fiction and Poetry from Rhode Island’s State Council on the Arts in 2014 and 2015.

Photo – Colin Channer