Time Come

Selected Prose

De: Linton Kwesi Johnson

Narrado por: Ben Onwukwe, Linton Kwesi Johnson

A Financial Times Music Book of the Year 2023

'Key to understanding black British history' - Sunday Times
'Sharp and still relevant' - Zadie Smith

Recognized as one of the great poets of modern times, and as a deeply respected and influential political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and record reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, it is a body of work that draws creatively and critically on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race that continue to inform the Black British experience.

Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to his penetrating appraisals of music and literature, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to find his own voice as a poet and compelled him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. A collection that ventures into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy.

With an introduction by Paul Gilroy, author of There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack
'A mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces' - Kit de Waal
'As necessary as ever' - The Observer
'A book to be savoured and re-read' - Derek Owusu
'An outstanding collection' - Caryl Phillips
'A necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire' - Yomi Sode
'Incisive, engaging, fearless' - Gary Younge

Reseñas de la Crítica

Linton Kwesi Johnson <b>brought the aural poetry of Jamaican speech to 'H'england' </b>and captured it in verse. He <b>contributed a sharp and still relevant analysis of class dynamics</b> to our literature. Oh, and he also <b>made music from words</b>. Thank you, Linton! (Zadie Smith)

<b>An outstanding collection</b> which speaks to the extraordinary achievement of <i>the</i> voice of my generation. Like all great artists, Linton Kwesi Johnson wasn't called - he simply arrived. For his time, and for the ages. (Caryl Phillips)

LKJ provided the soundtrack to my youth but these writings are more than nostalgic. Written with humility and generosity, this <b>mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces</b> document an important time in British Caribbean history, the emergence of our music, our culture, our heroes and our political history.<b> I loved it</b>. (Kit de Waal)

Flecked with passion; taut and reasoned . . . <b>The grace and power of LKJ's writing are as necessary as ever.</b>

Linton Kwesi Johnson is not just a master of the language but of its various forms: lyric, poetry and prose. <b>Incisive, engaging, fearless</b>, it is as much of a joy to read him as it is to hear him. (Gary Younge)

<b>One of the greatest living poets of the counterculture</b> . . . Braids together the themes of his life.

An opportunity to understand Johnson as a thinker as well as a cultural critic . . . <b>every word is chosen with care.</b>

<b>A scandalously overdue volume.</b> (Paul Gilroy)

<b>Extraorindary</b> . . . If you want to know about the life, politics and history behind Linton Kwesi Johnson's poetry and music, <b>you need this book</b>.

<b>Sheds light not only on LKJ's creative process but also his life story.</b>

A welcome collation of Linton Kwesi Johnson's writings, which provide a thorough understanding of his commitment to poetry, music and justice. <b>I found the book inspirational</b> - and was gladdened to eavesdrop on formative exchanges from the author's childhood and grateful to investigate avenues of culture, which were new to me. I put down <i>Time Come</i> singing the tune of the boon of community. (John Hegley)

A brilliant and welcome collection of <b>musings from the fertile mind of one of the world's great waymaking poets</b>, philosophers and activists. (Lorna Goodison)

It doesn't matter how familiar you might be with LKJ's poetry, in <i>Time Come</i> the essays and writings frame the verse; they give a context which places the verse squarely within the culture and observations that produced it. This is <b>a genuinely deep dive into the mind of one of Britain's most important poets.</b> (Lloyd Bradley)

A brilliant introduction to Jamaican lyrical art

In the beginning of the first chapter, I was wondering if I’d like this book. For reasons only my white upbringing can explain, I couldn’t relate to what was being said. But I am very glad I didn’t give up after half an hour, like I normally would with an audio book I don’t immediately ‘gel’ with. LKJ explains and gives context to life that is Jamaican, ‘Rastafarai’ through reviews of fellow artists work, as well as his own. A well researched, well written prose of Jamaican rasta music and poetry, as well as other black literary writings. Thank you, to the author for educating me to life on the other side of the tracks, so to speak. This work aims to remove those proverbial tracks. I hope everyone who listens to this book comes away with more empathy and understanding and acceptance and tolerance - if you do, that’s one step towards a better world.