Constab Ballads

Constab Ballads (1912) was the second published work by Claude McKay, after Songs of Jamaica earlier that year. This collection, also written in Jamaican Patois, 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 the poems:

• DE ROUTE MARCH
• FLAT-FOOT DRILL
• PAPINE CORNER
• COTCH DONKEY
• FE ME SAL
• PAY-DAY
• SUKEE RIVER
• THE MALINGERER
• KNUTSFORD PARK RACES
• THE HEART OF A CONSTAB
• A RECRUIT ON THE CORPY
• A LABOURER’S LIFE GIVE ME