Description

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

Publisher Review

Linton Kwesi Johnson brought the aural poetry of Jamaican speech to 'H'england' and captured it in verse. He contributed a sharp and still relevant analysis of class dynamics to our literature. Oh, and he also made music from words. Thank you, Linton! * Zadie Smith * An outstanding collection which speaks to the extraordinary achievement of the 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 mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces document an important time in British Caribbean history, the emergence of our music, our culture, our heroes and our political history. I loved it. * Kit de Waal * A scandalously overdue volume. * Paul Gilroy * Extraorindary . . . If you want to know about the life, politics and history behind Linton Kwesi Johnson's poetry and music, you need this book. * Wire * Linton Kwesi Johnson is not just a master of the language but of its various forms: lyric, poetry and prose. Incisive, engaging, fearless, it is as much of a joy to read him as it is to hear him. * Gary Younge * A welcome collation of Linton Kwesi Johnson's writings, which provide a thorough understanding of his commitment to poetry, music and justice. I found the book inspirational - 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 Time Come singing the tune of the boon of community. * John Hegley * A brilliant and welcome collection of musings from the fertile mind of one of the world's great waymaking poets, philosophers and activists. * Lorna Goodison * It doesn't matter how familiar you might be with LKJ's poetry, in Time Come 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 a genuinely deep dive into the mind of one of Britain's most important poets. * Lloyd Bradley * Gathers the real-life reportage roots of the dub poetry that makes LKJ our Bard of the Front Line, wherever it may be. His insights unite Black and diverse Britain, the Afro-Diaspora and those who dig it. Spare and deliberate, his dead-on prose critiques several decades of music, poetry, theatre and literature . . . LKJ also chronicles the social and political progress of post-colonial Black Britons, building a culture and spaces of their own. Engagingly, he shares his personal artistic development, deftly guiding arts aspirants. A work of consistent commitment and courage. * Vivien Goldman * Once again we are playing catch up with the writing of Linton Kwesi Johnson. From speeches to reviews, reggae to political commentary, Linton always has an insightful perspective . . . something to teach, something to tell, something to rebel against. A book to be savoured and re read, spending time with Kwesi Johnson, one of our greatest living poets, is always a privilege. * Derek Owusu * In Time Come, we learn how the sonic explosion in LKJ's writing and performances is rooted in his earliest impulses to question, learn, experiment and create . . . His thoughtful prose shows what an enduring legacy looks like, a tribute to his own fortitude but also to the people and forces that have shaped his trajectory and sensibility. * Olive Senior * We journey through this selection of prose with Linton Kwesi Johnson's upbringing and landscape weaved within. Time Come is a necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire generations of Black voices. LJK: a reggae poet on the mic, a craftsman on the page, and a legacy in our hearts. * Yomi Sode * With this collected prose, we as readers are privy to over four decades of learning, listening and doing. Like all deep teachers, LKJ is patient, generous, profound and direct. This is a precious collection, a bold and incisive counterweight to some of the most important poetry written about the black experience in the UK and beyond. Essential reading. * Anthony Joseph * From rebel music to praisesongs for the ancestors, LKJ's vibrant prose traverses the broad terrain of Black British culture and beyond . . . LKJ's prose, like his poetry, is a dread beat of resistance against systemic racism, affirming the capacity of Caribbean migrants to turn trauma into sustaining art. * Carolyn Cooper *