What can you see What kind of atmosphere

What can you see? What kind of atmosphere is created? Millions of tourists visit London each year. What would they think if they came here and saw this?

Beginning in a City, 1948 By James Berry

James Berry • born in Jamaica in 1924 • Emigrated first to America, then in 1948 to Britain • Trained as a telegraphist working for British Telecom • His poems use a mixture of standard English and Creole, the language of Jamaica. • Active both as a writer and in promoting black writing, especially black poetry.

The SS Empire Windrush brought the first wave of West Indian Immigrants to Britain. The story of the SS Empire Windrush is one of ambition, courage and hope. It was a symbol of the variety of different communities who have come to Britain and enriched Britain’s cultural life.

The ship that gave birth to a Modern Multicultural Britain

New start Busy, vibrant, a different place to where he was before. Beginning in a City, 1948 There are 5 major themes in this poem: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. immigration alienation hardship isolation new beginnings The year James Berry emigrated to Britain.

Moved or disturbed Inability to remain still or at rest. Uneasy. London is seen as the capital of the British Empire which had extended over much of the globe. Stirred by restlessness, pushed by history, This idea of I found myself in the centre of Empire. past events being important. Those first few hours, with those packed impressions I never looked at in all these years. Many initial impressions. Mind was packed full. Growing up in Jamaica, Berry felt as much disturbed by his African background as by the European slave-trade and its aftermath in his childhood.

Content What two factors made the writer come to England? What does he not look back at after ‘all these years’?

Repetition Emphasises a feeling of isolation and being lost without knowing where to go or which way to turn. I knew no room. I knew no Londoner. I searched without knowing. Small travelling bag I dropped off my grip at the ‘left luggage’. A smart policeman told me a house to try. Not knowing exactly where to go or what he is looking for. It’s all new to him. His first tip- to find accommodation.

Content How does the writer use language to suggest his sense of isolation?

In dim-lit streets, war-tired people moved slowly like dark-coated bears in a snowy region. simile I in my Caribbean gear was a half finished shack in the cold winds. In November, the town was a frosty field. metaphor I walked fantastic stone streets in a dream. Imagery Alliteration overwhelming Good dream? Bad dream?

Content What impression of Britain does Berry create in this stanza? How is he made to seem out of place? Identify the simile and the metaphor and comment on what each image contributes to the poem.

Filled with, consumed by happiness. Emphasis on finances & the idea of time. Exposed to the elements. 50 p in modern day money A man on duty took my ten-shilling note for a bed for four nights. Inflated with happiness I followed him. Small, trapped, I was left in a close-walled room, suffocating, left with a dying shadeless bulb, end. a pillowless bed and a smelly army blanket – all the comfort I had paid for. Without luxury or comfort Little money = little comfort

Content What is the impact of the adjectives in this stanza?

Repetition emphasises the lack of luxuries. Slow, painful movements Curtainless in morning light, I crawled out of bed onto wooden legs and stiff-armed body, Pain and discomfort with a frosty-board face that I patted Attempt to With icy water at the lavatory tap. soothe Dealing with the cold: 1. Climate change from what he is used to. 2. Another example of no luxuries. If there was no hot water in the lavatory, do you think he would have been able to have a hot shower?

Content Which details add to the picture of squalor? Which details give a sense of physical suffering?

Likens house to a prison Then I came to fellow-inmates in a crowded room. Aggressive A rage of combined smells attacked me, nature of Suffocating Clogging my nostrils – smells and him. actions and new charges of other smells merely Increased the stench. I was alone. I alone was nauseated and choked in deadly air. sick Similar to Wilfred Owen’s description of soldier dying in a gas attack in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.

Content What does the word ‘inmates’ suggest? How is the sense of smell used here?

Train and coach terminus in London Area of South London with large Caribbean population I walked without map, without knowledge Alliteration emphasising movement From Victoria to Brixton. On Coldharbour Lane Multi-cultural. I saw a queue of men – some black – his observations And stopped. I stood by one man in the queue. ‘Wha happenin brodda? Wha happenin here? ’

Content How does Berry use repetition here? What is the effect of using real place names? The last line introduces direct speech and the Creole dialect. What impact does this have?

Old name for the Job centre Newly arrived immigrant Looking at me he said ‘You mus be a jus-come? You did hear about Labour Exchange? ’ ‘Yes – I hear. ’ ‘Well, you at it! But, you need a place whey you live. ’ He pointed. ‘Go over dere and get a room. ’ So, I had begun – begun in London. Repetition His beginning in a city- his London journey begins.

Content How does the tone change in the final stanza?

James Berry What were James Berry’s reasons for writing this poem? What do you think he hoped to portray?