Myrna Loy is a published author of 'Lovers Rock (More than a Dance Floor), 'Poetry's Promise' (my life in poetry), 'Poetry's Teacher' (my work and other experiences in poetry), 'The Other Side of Tourism' (a travelogue of British versus Jamaican culture) the 'Spirit of Queens' (a spirit-led inspirational book of poems).
‘Lovers Rock – More than a Dance Floor’ was inspired by the Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series called Lovers Rock. It was written while I was self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic. I felt the need to illustrate how lovers rock was more than what was represented in Steve's docudrama. I have demonstrated in my book, how dancing intimately to lovers rock made us feel safe, played a key role in our lives, decisions, relationships and was instrumental in the birth of our children.
You can get the Kindle version and Extended edition on Amazon
NEGATED IDENTITY
(Extracted from The Other Side of Tourism)
By Myrna Loy
"Me love dih cuture
Me speak dih patois
H'an yet dem she
Me noh come fram rown yah
Dem call me touriss..
Dem call me foreignah
Dem laugh h'an call me h'an h'imitator
But me waaan dem fih h'ackept me in jamaica
Not as a touriss but a native sistah...:
Being British has its advantages
I don't need a visa to go to a lot of places,
I'm among a melting pot of different races,
My identity has a lot of different faces..
But Britain and Jamaica have their own spaces,
So I'm not sure where my place is..
I don't understand the differentiation
When we are all a part of god's one nation...
Out of many one people.. We are one!"
By Myrna Loy "the other side of tourism" second edition 2021
The second edition of the other side of tourism was revived because it was the first book i had ever published. The print was small, and i needed to enlarge the print based on feedback.
Loy made 1st and 2nd place for four consecutive years at the ACER Writing & Poetry awards held at the Brixton Academy in the 1980s. Among her many performances, Loy performed poetry for NW London’s Women’s Group, Tricycle Theatre (Kilburn) Women in Harrow and also alongside Linton Kwesi Johnson. Just as Loy was getting renowned for poetry via her weekly poetry column in the Voice and powerful performances in London, she fled to America to protect herself from a challenging marriage. Adjusted and composed, Loy then performed poetry at the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations 1996) and came second in one of Manhattan’s largest poetry competitions, “The Last Poem” at the Castillo Centre. Loy returned to the UK in 2000, and performed alongside Jean Binta Breeze at Luton University in 2002 and has since delivered Poetry and a talk at the Riverside Festival at the Corn Exchange in Bedford in 2005, performed poetry at the Pulse Festival in Ipswich in 2006, Black History Celebrations at Luton Town Hall, and the B:Fest Luton Arts Festival in May 2009. This coveted poet has been commissioned to appear at colleges, libraries and festivals to perform poetry and discuss the dual identity elements of her book.